Haunted
by Mrs.InsaneOne
Summary: A shared legacy, deadly intrigue, formidable magic, demonic youkai, and frustrating prophecies are just a few of the hazards Natsume Takashi runs into when he uncovers old lies and new family. Pairings: NT/TT, HP/LL, hints of NL/HG. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue: Night of Terror & Frustration

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**Warnings:** _Mentions of character death, angst and drama, Silent!Harry, Powerful!Harry, Intelligent!Harry, Misguided!Dumbledore, not so bad but not perfect Dursleys, mild to moderate violence, bad language, alcohol, and suggestive themes in later chapters, some mild to moderate Ron bashing, and slightly AU on the HP side with a few changes to the Yujincho world as well._

**AN:** _In the world of FanFiction crossovers, there are thousands of stories where Harry is adopted by long lost family from hundreds of different universes. Some of them are exceedingly well written and some of them leave much to be desired though the basic plot is always intriguing. I discovered the world of Natsume Yujincho while randomly looking for interesting anime with my youngest one day and I was hooked from the first episode. _

_I eventually went looking for HP (my first addiction) crossovers with Yujincho and was disappointed to find there was only one… I was disappointed that the author chose to so closely follow the plot of a single episode, practically word for word with Harry thrown in as a seeming afterthought. So I thought of what I would do if I were to throw Natsume and Potter together and this story is the result of that brainstorming and three months spent writing every chance I had (in between working on my other ongoing projects). This story literally wrote itself though and is the first stand alone epic I have ever written as I tend to write trilogies, series, or one shots. _

_Throughout the story you will find a little Japanese vocabulary tossed in here and there, however, I am not a native speaker and never formally took any classes in Japanese so I'm certain I've made mistakes here and there despite using google and various on-line translators, so I will apologize now and occasionally at the end of a chapter for any mangling I have done. Translations will be provided at the end of every chapter. That said, most of this story takes place in Japan and unless it is otherwise stated the characters will be speaking in Japanese when in Japan and speaking English when in England/Scotland. _

_I hope you enjoy the story. ~ Jenn_

_**P.S.** This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><strong>Haunted<br>**Prologue: A Night of Terror and Frustration

_Little Whinging, Surrey, England  
>2:00 A.M. Friday, February 12, 1982<em>

A small, muffled scream sounded as a tiny dark haired toddler with terrified green eyes dropped down out of his crib, slammed through the partially open door to his bedroom, and dashed recklessly into the hallway as if the devil himself were right on his heels. Pounding footsteps and frightened sobs echoed through the dark house as the child practically flew across the hallway, barreled down the staircase, skidded around the landing at the bottom of the stairs, and fled down a second, shorter hallway towards the kitchen. Halfway down the hall, the small boy stumbled to a stop in front of the small door that belonged to the small closet that had been built into the space beneath the staircase.

A single sliding bolt lock at the very top edge of the door, fixed in the locked position, jumped into the open position as if opened by unseen hands as the small boy's hands touched the handle of the door and desperately ripped open the door. Throwing himself through the door and into the closet, the boy slammed the door shut behind him, the sliding lock clicking back into place a second later though there was apparently no one else present other than the frightened child. Still sobbing and whimpering as ice cold tears fueled by pure terror poured down his face, the boy pushed his way through the many woolen jumpers, plastic rain slickers, and flannel jackets that hung from the rod that spanned the tallest section of the cupboard. His feet kicked about an assortment of rain boots, work boots, sneakers, and folded umbrellas as he burrowed his way towards the smallest section of the closest.

Once he had gone as far as he could go into the smallest part of the cupboard; the small boy curled up in a ball, wrapped his arms tightly around his knees, and began rocking back and forth. As he huddled fearfully inside the darkened closest the little boy begged and cried for his mummy and daddy; his words coming out as nothing more than a hoarse whisper as he silently wished for the monsters that hunted him to go away.

Upstairs, in the master bedroom, a light blossomed in the night as the man of the house sat up in bed and turned on his bedside lamp before he turned to address his wife of eight years, "He's at it again, Petunia. How am I supposed to get any sleep when that boy keeps screaming, crying, and running through the house each night? It's a miracle that boy didn't wake up Dudders this time! I thought we'd established that the 'monsters' he keeps seeing aren't real and that they can't hurt him? Even that blasted nightlight we purchased for the boy hasn't stopped him from making up those stories."

"I know, Vernon, dear," Petunia replied wearily. "I'm at my wits end in figuring out what to do with him. Every time I turn my back he's burrowing his way into the back of that blasted closest. I've tried locking it in order to keep him out but he somehow manages to get it unlocked each and every time; even though he's not yet tall enough to reach the sliding bolt."

"It's not natural, I tell you," Vernon groused as he adjusted the covers over his bulky body. "We've given him a perfectly suitable room, bought that old cot from Mrs. Figg for him to sleep in, and even gave him that old bear that Dudley didn't want so he'd have something to sleep with. And yet he spends ninety-five percent of the time hiding away in that ruddy closest crying about monsters that only he can see. I've got half a mind to tear the door out, fill in the closet with bricks, and seal up the entrance; or I would if I thought it might do any good. He needs to understand it's not normal to lock himself away in a cupboard; what will the neighbors think if they find out?"

"The neighbors already think I've gone round the bend; claiming we have a second boy living with us," Petunia bitterly reminded her husband. "I've actually stopped trying to explain why they never see him because of the pitying looks I get each time I bring him up in a conversation. I just don't understand why the boy refuses to step outside of the house; he won't even to go outside and play with Dudley in the backyard. Not even if I try bribing him with an ice pop. I don't know what I'm going to do when it comes time for him to take him for his annual check up at the clinic let alone once it is time for him to start school."

"Isn't there anyone else that could take him?" Vernon practically begged.

"No, both of my parents and all four of my grandparents were only children and all of them passed away long before you and I married. I know nothing about _his_ side of the family; I never wanted anything to do with _their_ kind so never bothered learning if _he_ came from a large family or not. I'm certain _they_ would have taken the boy the instant _they_ had died if any of _them_ were still alive anyway. Regrettably, I think we're stuck with him, Vernon; as much as I wish it were otherwise."

"What if we turn him over to Child Services?"

"Providing we could get him out the door; who's to say that the _man_ who left the boy on our porch wouldn't just turn around and bring him right back? I know you're skeptical, and I don't blame you for that, but _those people_ have no problems interfering with respectable citizens whenever the mood strikes them. _They'll_ know the instant we give the boy away and _they_ will take us to task for not trying to raise him properly; never mind the fact that the boy has mental issues. No… unless some long lost relative miraculously turns up looking for the boy we're stuck with him until he turns eighteen."

"So what are we supposed to do about the boy in the mean time? I'm going to have problems with my boss if I'm late again because the boy keeps waking me up with his antics every night."

"I know you don't want to give into his fits," Petunia hesitantly began as she looked over at her husband with worried eyes. "But until he outgrows whatever stage he's going through we could just let him stay in the cupboard if that is what he wants. Maybe… maybe allowing him to think we've given up on fighting with him over hiding in that closet will make him grow bored with these impossible flights of fancy of his."

"I don't like giving in to him, Pet," Vernon growled halfheartedly in irritation. "But maybe you're right. We'll try it your way for a couple of months and if that still doesn't work we can try something else. I better try to get at least a few more hours of sleep now; I've an important meeting in the morning and if I'm late or I'm not able to give the meeting my full attention I might just be out of a job by lunch time."

"I know dear, I'll make certain you're up on time and have your breakfast and lunch packed and ready to go so you can eat at the office to save a little time."

"What would I do without you, Petunia love?" Vernon asked rhetorically as he gave his wife a peck on the cheek, turned out the light, and snuggled back down with his pillows.

Downstairs, buried in the back of the cupboard under the stairs, a little terrified boy huddled piteously in the far corner of the one room where the demons that hunted him couldn't reach him. It would be well over an hour before his tiny body finally gave into the exhaustion as he slowly cried himself to sleep. Yet even in his dreams he found no peace as he was haunted by terrible visions of killing green lights, terrifyingly evil laughter, and thousands of monsters constantly grabbing at him with his claws.

Hovering just outside of the cupboard door were the numerous ghostly figures that had chased the boy from his bedroom upstairs. There were hundreds more of the mostly unseen spirits spread throughout the house and scattered about the Dursley's property; all of them drawn to one little boy by named of Harry James Potter like flies to honey.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _This was one of the shortest chapters I have ever written (not counting a couple of the omakes I've written for my Pokémon/HP crossovers). I wasn't really interested in rewriting Vernon's unusual morning or the meeting between Dumbledore and Minerva so you can consider everything up until the events in this chapter happened according to Canon… from here on out I'll be playing fast and loose with canon; though there will be some things that don't change. For those that prefer to read longer chapters, never fear… most of the chapters for this story run between 5,000 and 10,000 words with maybe a small handful being between 3,000 & 5,000. ~ Jenn_

_**07-28-12:** This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and update and revise the warnings listed at the top of the page since I've edited out the content that would have bumped the rating of this story up to Mature._


	2. Truth Lies within the Lie

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Truth Lies within the Lie<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>11:49 P.M. Friday April 24, 1987<em>

Natsume Takashi closed his eyes and let out a hiss of pain even as he wondered, not for the first time, how he always managed to end up in these types of situations. He groaned and opened his eyes as the large hand, or rather giant claw, which was pinning him to the ground pressed tighter as a twisted face leered down at him from beneath long, ropy green hair. Three bloodshot eyes spun crazily as if the youkai pinning him to the ground was having difficulty focusing on him while its mouth gaped in a wide mimicry of a smile that displayed a small handful of broken, rotting teeth. Takashi gagged as a wave of putrid air wafted over his face as the spirit laughed at him as the eye on the far left finally fixed on his face.

"I have you now!" the youkai exclaimed in a gravely voice that grated on his ears.

"Let me go!" Takashi gasped out as he lashed out with his foot and clipped the youkai in the chin in the hopes that it would release him.

The youkai screeched in pain and pulled three of its four arms up to protect its face while the fourth still pinned Takashi to the ground. Cursing his rotten luck, Takashi twisted back and forth in an effort to break free only to be rewarded with the youkai digging its claws into the dirt and pressing down harder as it continued to clutch its face with its other hands. Takashi half screamed and half groaned as he felt the crushing weight of the spirit bear down on him. Angry, both at being caught and over the pain he felt, Takashi lashed out with his feet three more times; nailing the youkai twice in the chest and once on the hands that covered the being's chin. His efforts were rewarded when the youkai released him as it tumbled backwards still screeching in pain as it rolled back and forth.

Takashi rolled over and climbed to his knees with one arm wrapped around his bruised and aching ribs as he sucked in as much air as he could without aggravating his chest. After nearly a full minute he climbed up onto his feet and staggered over to where he'd drawn a circle filled with symbols earlier. In the center of the circle, sitting on top of a drawn eye, was a small ceramic bottle. He coughed and held his ribs tighter as a wave of pain cut through his chest when he leaned down to pick up a long, forked stick that had been stuck through a piece of paper until the paper sat just below the fork. He stepped into the outer ring of the circle and jabbed the butt end of the stick into the ground in front of him as he pulled a second slim rectangle of paper out of his pocket and folded it in half.

Resting the stick in the crook of his elbow, he tucked the folded piece of paper between his middle and index finger of his right hand, clapped his hands together, and closed his eyes as he chanted, "Come forth. I seek thine hand. Seize him, o defender of darkness!" As he said the final phrase he opened his eyes, thrust out his right hand with the paper firmly held between his two fingers as he grabbed the stick with his left hand, and aimed the folded paper in his hand towards the youkai that had just tried to crush him.

Several meter long wisps of mist were sucked into the ceramic bottle in the center of the circle at his first two words. Right after that, right about the time he was saying the last bit and thrusting his right arm forward, a dozen shadow hands burst forth from the ceramic jug and wrapped around the monstrous youkai that had been trying to kill him. The demon screamed in rage as the shadow hands rapidly pulled him into the tiny bottle.

Once the youkai had been contained, Takashi dropped to his knees panting as he pulled the lid to the bottle out of his pocket and quickly sealed the bottle to prevent the demon from escaping. The circle beneath him slowly melted back into the ground as he let himself drop to his belly in pain and exhaustion as his activities of the night caught up to him. He'd been laying there for about five minutes when an exceptionally heavy cat bounded off his head before crouching down in front of him. Takashi lifted his head and glared at said cat as it tucked its forepaws beneath its belly as it stared back at him.

"Why are you lazing about, Natsume?" the cat demanded after another minute had passed. "I thought you wanted to deal with the demon and be gone by sunrise? Personally I'd have preferred to have spent the night drinking sake and eating yeast buns instead of sitting out here in the cold while you lounge about in the dirt."

"Nyanko-sensei," Takashi growled as he narrowed his eyes and continued to glare at the cat. "Your sense of timing has gotten worse over the years. Where the hell were you ten minutes ago when the damn demon was trying to make a pancake out of me!"

"What do you mean, where was I ten minutes ago!" Nyanko parroted back indignantly. "I was patrolling the area looking for our demon!"

"Liar! You were drinking sake again. I can smell the alcohol on your breath!" Takashi snapped as he pushed himself weakly into a sitting position before reaching forward to pick up the shaking jar containing the recently sealed demon. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't seal you into demon jar as well?"

"You would miss me too much?" Nyanko quipped hopefully as he sat up and ran his paws over his whiskerless face while peering at Takashi worriedly.

Takashi scoffed under his breath as he tucked the demon container into the pocket of his jacket and used the stick he still held in his left hand to steady himself as he climbed to his feet and winced as pain shot through his chest. Forcing himself to breathe shallowly as he waited for the burning ache to pass, Takashi swayed on his feet with just the slim stick in his hand keeping him on his feet. When even that small support didn't seem to be enough to keep him from crashing back to the ground, there was a puff of smoke beside him and a giant wolf-like spirit took the place of the gray, orange, and white cat, which promptly curled around Takashi to prevent his fall.

"Do not blame Madara," a woman's voice suddenly called out as an impossibly tall woman, with long reddish-pink hair and bat wings entered the clearing. "I lured him away tonight so I could see for myself if the rumors of your immense powers were true. I needed to know just how strong you were and if your heart was as pure as the various youkai that live in this area claimed it to be."

"**You had no right to interfere**," Madara growled out in a voice far deeper than that he used when in his earthly cat form. "**Natsume could have been killed and then that demon would have continued to terrorize the youkai and humans in this forest.**"

"And yet he didn't die and the demon has been safely contained," the woman countered with a smile that revealed hundreds of needle sharp teeth. "And I now have the information I sought."

"Just why did you feel the need to test me?" Takashi demanded with as much respect as he could summon given how much pain he was in while he placed a calming hand on Madara's shoulder to prevent him from snapping back at the powerful youkai standing before them. "What do you want from me?"

"You carry the Yujincho…?" the youkai began.

"There have been hundreds of youkai that have tried to take it from me over the years," Takashi interrupted as he gazed steadily at the woman without showing any of the pain or fear he currently felt. "What makes you think I will let you take it from me now?"

"You misunderstand me," the youkai countered gently with a laugh. "I do not wish to take the Yujincho from you; I have no need of it. I am here because I owed Reiko a favor; in exchange for not taking my name she tasked me with delivering a message to the one who would walk in her footsteps in the city of her youth. I did not think you to be strong enough to face the truth in her message when I first found you though and decided to watch you for the next seventeen years I spent much of that time listening to numerous youkai that live in this region extolling your many virtues or cursing your strength and stubbornness. Your strength appeared to grow in leaps and bounds through the years, much to my surprise, and I wished to see if it was actually your strength or the strength of your servant."

"**I'm not his servant!**" Madara growled out with a frown only to huff in irritation when both the youkai and Takashi ignored his outburst.

"Natsume Reiko died fifty-two years ago; any favor you owed to her died with her," Takashi stated wearily as he finally stopped trying to hide his pain and leaned heavily against Madara's side. "Sensei, let's go home; I'm finished here."

Pushing away from the wolf spirit, Takashi limped off in the direction of the road as Madara reverted to his cat-like appearance and trundled along in his wake. Takashi had just reached the edge of the clearing when the tall youkai spoke again; her words making the young man stumble as he turned around to stare at the spirit with wide eyes.

"I first met your grandmother when she returned to this very forest when she was forty-four years old."

"That's impossible! My grandmother died at the age of eighteen; leaving my father an orphan."

"She told me that you would not believe me when I told you the truth. When I asked her how I was supposed to deliver her message if you would not listen to my words, she suggested that I tell you that there were two thousand four hundred and fifteen names in the Yujincho the day it passed into your care and that there would be less than three hundred names remaining when you and I finally met face to face," the youkai slyly revealed before vanishing from center of the clearing.

A few seconds later she appeared at the edge of the clearing and stared at him for a full minute before she spoke once more, "The message that Reiko left with me for you is this: My heart weeps for the years of loneliness that you will have faced because of the gift you inherited from me. I leave to you half of my legacy in the hopes that you will one day walk in the light and your heart may guide you through the coming darkness." Once she'd delivered the message she vanished once more.

"Wait! What gift are you talking about? What did she mean when she spoke of half a legacy?" Takashi demanded as he searched for any sign of the now missing youkai.

"She left you the keys to her past; to find the answers you seek you must first find the truth that is hidden in the lie!" the youkai's voice called from everywhere and nowhere.

"Pay the spirit no mind," Nyanko suggested with a frown as the cat sat down beside Takashi's feet and peered up at the pale young man. "You know how much the youkai love playing games with humans; that one was no different from the ones that tried to trick you in the past. You will only fall into her trap if you believe the words she spoke are true. I keep telling you that you must not let your guard down when dealing with the youkai. It will only lead you to your death and nearly has more than once already."

Takashi didn't answer his quasi friend and less than protective bodyguard as he searched the clearing one last time for the missing youkai. When he didn't see her, he turned around and slowly made his way through the forest to the road where he'd left his bicycle hidden just out of sight upon his arrival earlier that evening. Not feeling up to riding the bike all the way back home because of the pain he was in, Takashi simply pushed the bike along as he limped off in the direction of his home while his thoughts were mired in turmoil over what the youkai had revealed to him. At his side, Nyanko trotted silently; the youkai-turned-cat casting worried glances up at him every couple of steps.

_I first met your grandmother when she returned to this forest when she was forty-four years old. There were two thousand four hundred and fifteen names in the Yujincho the day it passed into your care and that there would be less than three hundred names remaining when you and I finally met. She left you the keys to her past; to find the answers you seek you must first find the truth that is hidden in the lie!_

The words of the youkai swirled round and round in Takashi's mind as he gamely placed one foot in front of the other despite the pain that wracked his body with each step. _She returned to this forest when she was forty-four years old._ Why would every human that knew Reiko always tell him that Reiko had died at the age of eighteen if she hadn't in fact died? What purpose would it have served to lie about her death? Wouldn't someone have told him if his grandmother had just disappeared instead of telling him that she died if she had just gone missing one day?

And then there was the message that his grandmother was supposed to have left him. _My heart weeps for the years of loneliness that you will have faced because of the gift you inherited from me. I leave to you half of my legacy in the hopes that you will one day walk in the light and your heart may guide you through the coming darkness._ What gift? What legacy? Were they both references to the Book of Friends? How could the book only be half of a legacy? Did her words refer to something else entirely? What else could his grandmother have left behind and where would she have left it? _She left you the keys to her past; to find the answers you seek you must first find the truth that is hidden in the lie! _Truth hidden in a lie? What lie? Keys? Was the message literal or was it figurative? Who could possibly have the answers?

Shaking his head to clear away his growing confusion and frustration, Takashi stumbled to a stop as he nearly tripped over his own feet and gasped as the movement sent a stab of sharp pain through his chest. Cursing under his breath, he spent several minutes waiting for the pain to fade once more as he focused on taking shallow breaths so as not to aggravate his injured ribs while at the same time praying his ribs had only been bruised a bit and not cracked or broken. He really had no desire to visit the hospital or face the rather pointed questions that would be asked of him if he was forced to seek medical aide. Touko-san, whom he'd grown rather fond of through the years he'd lived with her and her husband (considering the older couple the parents he'd never had growing up), would worry needlessly over him if it turned out he'd been seriously injured; and he always felt guilty when he worried the kind hearted woman.

"Natsume?"

"I just need a moment to catch my breath, Nyanko-sensei," Takashi breathily assured the cat at his feet without looking in the cat's direction.

"Natsume-kun? What are you doing wandering around out here at this time of night?"

"Natori-san?"

"Hai," Natori Shuichi replied as he stepped up beside Takashi and draped his arm over the younger man. When Takashi winced and let out a pained groan, Natori dropped his arm and eyed him critically over the top of his glasses while Hiiragi, one of Natori's youkai servants, appeared at the older man's side and turned her mask covered face in their direction before turning her attention to the forest beside the road. After a brief inspection, Natori stated; "You are injured."

"Just a little bruised," Takashi admitted with a grimace. "Someone's idea of a test, apparently."

"A test?" Natori repeated skeptically as his eyes focused on the blossoming blood stains on the left shoulder and right side of Takashi's shirt. "And since when do little bruises bleed?"

Takashi blanched as he glanced down and cursed when he saw the spreading red stains as he just realized the demon's claws must have slice or stabbed him when it first grabbed him. As if recognizing the seriousness of his injuries was a sign of some sort, Takashi's eyes rolled up as the world went black around him and he passed out with the sound of a chorus of cursing from Natori and Nyanko ringing in his ears.

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><p><em>Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan<br>12:05 P.M. Saturday May 16, 1987_

Three weeks after the bizarre incident, as Takashi called the troublesome night he'd sealed the demon and spoken to the cryptic youkai that had claimed she was testing him, saw the young thirty-two year old digging through the wicker hamper that contained all of his grandmother's worldly possessions looking for clues that would give him some idea as to whether or not the strange youkai had spoken the truth about his grandmother. Sitting beside him in his earthly cat-form, Madara the wolf spirit made disdainful comments about Takashi's sanity and intelligence. Takashi ignored his companion as he thumbed through yet another grossly overdue library book, this one a Japanese to English Dictionary, before setting it on top of the previous dozen 'stolen' library books that he'd already searched through.

"I don't know why you bother searching for something you're not going to find, Natsume," Nyanko repeated for the hundredth time in the past hour when his insults were ignored. "That youkai was just playing games with you. If there had ever been anything to find, you would have found it years ago given the number of times you've pawed through that box of junk."

"Hnn," Takashi hummed as he flipped through another dictionary, this one English to Japanese, which made Takashi pause in confusion as he glanced between the two dictionaries several times since there seemed to be no logical reason for his grandmother to have needed both versions. After a few minutes of careful deliberation, he set both dictionaries off to one side so he could take a closer look at them later. Takashi then reached back into the hamper to pull out another book, half-heartedly thumbed through the pages, and carelessly dropped it on top of the larger stack of books; causing the entire stack to tip over. Takashi jumped at the unexpected sound of books hitting the floor only to freeze as the sound of something metal bouncing across the floor reached his ears.

The moment the unexpected sound cut off, Takashi practically dove on the scattered books as he searched for the item that had made the sound. Nyanko-sensei found it first, the spirit-turned-cat pawing curiously at a small brass key sitting just a few feet away from the last book Takashi had taken out of the box. Takashi rescued the key from his self-proclaimed bodyguard and examined it carefully for a several seconds as he turned it over a couple of times in his hand. When the key didn't offer up any clues as to what it unlocked, Takashi tucked it into his pocket and began restacking the books only to freeze when he lifted one of the books and found an envelope he hadn't seen before sitting innocently on the floor.

He reached out and picked up the envelope, noting that it felt a bit heavier than he'd expected it to, and then felt the blood drain from his face as he turned it over and saw his name written neatly across the front of the envelope in red ink. Numbness settled over his brain as he stared at his name printed in bold romaji across an envelope that was more than a little yellow with age. Furrowing his brow, he flipped the envelope over a couple of times in his hands, running his fingers over the key shaped indent that had been pressed into the backside of the envelope. When he registered the shape of the indent he'd been running his fingers over, Takashi pulled the key out of his pocket and with a trembling hand set it into the key shaped dent and felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise as the key fit perfectly.

Growling, Takashi reached over his shoulder and punched Madara between the eyes while crying out, "I've told you not to breathe on my neck like that, sensei!" The wolf-spirit sank down onto his belly and groaned loudly as he wrapped his two front paws over his aching face. "You know it creeps me out when you stand behind me like that."

"**I just wanted to see what you found**," Madara groused as he delicately rubbed his bruised face with his paw.

"Next time just ask," Takashi admonished as he shoved the envelope and key into his pocket and finished gathering up the toppled stack of books. "And it was just an old letter; it must have fallen out of the book along with the key when I knocked the stack of books over." _Why is the letter addressed to me though? Why would it have been hidden in my grandmother's things of all places? Is the letter connected to the key or was it just happenstance that they were hidden inside of the same book? No. There has to be a reason why both the key and the letter were kept in the same place since whoever hid them in the book would have noticed one or the other if they were placed separately and would have surely hidden either the letter or the key somewhere else if they thought it could be found by someone other than the intended recipient. But why? And who?_

"So, are you ready to give up this silly notion of looking for lies and riddles, Natsume?" Nyanko demanded now that he was once again wearing the body of a cat. "You've been digging through that junk all morning and have nothing to show for the wasted hours. Besides, it's lunch time and I'm hungry."

"You're always hungry, Nyanko-sensei," Takashi absently pointed out as he once more began pulling items out of the wicker hamper; several old train tickets, a set of chipped tea cups, an old airline ticket, a leather bound notebook, five more overdue library books, several maps, and what looked like an old baby blanket. _Hold on… airline ticket? Maps?_ Takashi thought as he stopped lifting the baby blanket out of the box and glanced down to where the folded maps and plane ticket were sitting beside the old tea cups. Letting the blanket slip through his fingers, Takashi sat back on his heels as he reached down and picked up the plane ticket.

"Now what did you find, Natsume?"

Opening the pamphlet-like holder that airlines often used to hold tickets and other important documents for those who travel by plane, Takashi found an unused ticket for a late night flight from Tokyo, Japan to Gyeongseong, Korea* for Natsume Seiichi. Takashi's eyebrows disappeared beneath his bangs the moment he discovered that the ticket was for his father and not his grandmother. When he happened to see the date for the flight it felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach as he realized that it was the same day he'd been told that his grandmother had died; Friday, September thirteenth, nineteen-thirty-five. Tucked behind the ticket was an official copy of his father's birth certificate, a folded piece of paper with a list of names and addresses titled Emergency Contacts, a yellow immunization card, and a folded paper napkin.

"Why is there an unused airline ticket for my father in my grandmother's things? Why is there only a ticket for my father and not one for my grandmother? Could she have actually gotten on that flight and left my father behind for some reason? Was her ticket simply lost when she supposedly died?" Takashi wondered out loud as he stared at the documents in his hands. "If she did take that flight and had originally intended on taking my father with her, why did she change her mind? Was she forced to leave him? Did she think he would be better off being raised by someone else?"

"Or maybe she just walked away and forgot about him," Nyanko snidely offered as he waddled away from Takashi and curled up on the folded futon. "In all probability she died before they could get on the plane and your father was turned over to the first relative that came along because they had been unable to get a hold of the people she'd listed as emergency contacts."

"If my grandmother was headed to the airport with my father she would have had at least one suitcase filled with clothes and travel necessities for the two of them," Takashi logically mused. "What happened to her things? If she did die, then her suitcase should have ended up with the rest of this stuff."

"Who's to say that isn't everything she'd planned on taking with her?"

"It can't be. Where are her clothes? Her personal affects? Why isn't her ticket here with my father's ticket? No, there is something else going on here. For that matter, why wasn't this stuff given to my father at some point?"

"What are you babbling about, Natsume?"

"All of my parent's belongings were either sold off or put into storage after they passed away," Takashi explained. "If my grandmother had died then both the suitcase she had the day she died and this box of things should have gone to my father at some point. It didn't because it would have either been sold or been placed into storage with the rest of my parents things. In fact, Shigeru-san mentioned in passing that someone had left this box on his porch two years after my parents died along with a letter asking him to hold onto it until I came to claim it. I thought it odd at the time but never really thought about how strange it was that someone would ask the Fujiwaras to hold onto a box for me when there was never any guarantee that I would actually have contact with them; let alone move into their house."

"You are seeing mysteries where there is nothing but sad facts," Nyanko declared disdainfully. "Baka, whoever had it last probably just wanted to get rid of it and sent it to the first person that crossed their minds. Toss that junk back in the box and let's go get some ramen and for dessert I will allow you to buy me a dozen yeast buns."

"Sensei… you've been adamantly denying even the slightest possibility that that youkai was speaking the truth," Takashi stated slowly as he turned to face the odd cat that had been with him for seventeen years. "What is it that you know about what happened to my grandmother that frightens you so much?"

"Wha…! Baka! Who said I was scared of anything! I'm just trying to prevent you from wasting your time chasing after a bunch of empty lies."

"Lies… the youkai told me that I would find the answers when I found the truth inside of a lie," Takashi mused as he turned out the cat's vehement protestations as he stared down at the ticket he still held in his hand and then let his gaze pass over the collection of books and other items that were scattered beside him on the floor. As he shifted his weight, he felt the envelope he'd tucked into his pocket crinkle and shift and the knowledge that the envelope had been addressed to him specifically slammed forcefully back into his thoughts as he brushed a hand over the pocket. _What if this box is the lie,_ Takashi thought to himself as he frowned down at the ticket again. _What if the bits and pieces that don't make any sense are the keys that will help me find the answers to my questions? Could my grandmother have disappeared that day instead of dying like everyone believed? Why? Was she running from the responsibility of raising a child when she was so young herself? Was she afraid that the youkai would harm my father in order to hurt her? Is there a point in trying to find the truth after all these years?_

"Natsume, are you even listening to me!" Nyanko demanded as he climbed up onto Takashi's shoulder and shouted in his ear.

"Gah!" Takashi yelled as he reflexively punched the white, orange, and gray cat a second time. "Don't do that!"

After recovering from Nyanko trying to make him go deaf or give him an early heart attack, Takashi flipped the wicker hamper upside down and dumped out everything that had still been inside. He then carefully examined the inner lining of the basket-like box in search of a possible hidden pocket but found nothing out of the ordinary; not even a loose or poorly repaired section of inner lining. He then reached for one of the many books that he'd halfheartedly searched through earlier and held it loosely by the spine as he flipped through the pages while holding the book upside down in order to make certain there was nothing tucked inside of the book. Once he was certain the book held nothing but its pages, he checked the title before tucking the book back inside the hamper.

The process was repeated for each of the rest of the three dozen or so books that had been inside of the box; a few of them spilling out ticket stubs, paper money from various European and Middle Eastern countries, business cards, random receipts, or blank postcards that he carefully sorted through. Those items that hinted at time spent outside of Japan (receipts, business cards, a few post cards, and the money) were set aside with the two dictionaries, the airline ticket, and the maps. Any book titles that caught his attention or rather seemed to stand out for some reason, such as the two nameless books that he found were written in English after skimming through them, were set aside as well.

When he finished going through everything, he moved the items he thought might hold some clue as to what truly happened to his grandmother up onto his desk. Takashi then spent a few minutes cleaning up the dust and dirt that ended up on the floor after he'd dumped out the wicker box before he headed downstairs to make lunch after threatening to give Nyanko's share of the meal to the neighbor's dog if he so much breathed on the items he set on his desk. The wolf-spirit-turned-cat sulked and glared at the young man for a full minute before he waddled out of the room and down the stairs in order to prove he'd not been thinking of doing anything to the 'clues' Takashi had found; not that Takashi was buying the guardian youkai's innocent act – he'd known the tricky and troublesome little furball for seventeen years after all.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – Idiot  
>Hai – Yes<br>Sake – Rice wine  
>Sensei – Teacher<br>Youkai – Spirit, ghost, demon, etc…  
>Yujincho – Book of Friends<p>

**Name Meanings:**

Natsume – Summer beauty or the jujube tree/fruit  
>Seiichi – Refined or pure (first son)<br>Takashi – Prosperous or noble

**Notes:**

*Gyeongseong, Korea – (meaning Capital City) would be renamed Seoul in 1945 and eventually became South Korea's capital city.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And now the stage has been set… As for the information on the date and age at which Reiko died, since I found no information on that I used creative license to determine when she was born, how old she was when she gave birth to her son, when she supposedly died, and pretty much everything in between as well. Her life growing up and everything that was learned about her up until her 'death' through the anime currently available can be considered to have happened; i.e. her adventures with various youkai are canon (as are Takashi's throughout the animated series for the most part). ~ Jenn_

_**07-28-12:** This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	3. A Puzzle Hidden Within a Puzzle

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 2: A Puzzle Hidden Within a Puzzle<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>9:23 A.M. Sunday May 17, 1987<em>

Takashi leaned back in his chair with a sigh as he stared up at the ceiling while he pondered the frustrating puzzle that was his grandmother's life. Spread out across the desk were the various items he'd thought might be clues to what had happened to his grandmother forty-three years earlier. He'd divided the various items into piles based upon the country of origin, if known, or into the miscellaneous pile if it wasn't. So far, all he'd learned was that his grandmother had either traveled to or knew someone who traveled to Korea, China, India, Arabia, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, and England.

According to the dates on the various ticket stubs, whoever had done the traveling had visited those countries in that exact order too; which Takashi guessed could mean that those tickets mapped his grandmother's journey out of Japan if he assumed she actually boarded the flight that was listed on the unused ticket of his father's. Then there were the items that made no sense at all; the brass key, the letter addressed to him, the napkin (which had what he thought might be a riddle on it), and a few other strange things that he couldn't quite identify.

"What does it mean?" Takashi wondered aloud as he glanced back down at the napkin, carefully avoiding looking at the unread letter that was addressed to him. He'd translated the original verses from English to Japanese in the hopes that it might make more sense.

_Two sons born of two worlds living without the gift of sight  
>The first shall be abandoned on a dark night filled with superstition<br>The second shall be torn from his family three times by death  
>A book divided by language, land, and time<em>

"It is a prophecy," Nyanko practically growled as he raked his claws down the side of the desk in annoyance.

"Prophecy? How do you know it's a prophecy? And I thought you didn't believe in fortune telling; that's what you always used to tell me."

"Prophecy has nothing to do with fortune telling, baka. Prophecies are gifts and curses from heaven where fortunes are nothing but idle wishes and speculation! Baka."

"I noticed you didn't say how you knew it was a prophecy," Takashi pointed out as he used his foot to push the cat away from his desk in order to prevent his claws from damaging the wood further. "And you wouldn't happen to know what it means, would you?"

"Huh? Were you talking to me?" Nyanko replied as he stuck his nose up in the air and jumped out the window.

_What exactly is it that you know, Nyanko-sensei?_ Takashi asked silently as he watched the cat disappear. _And what exactly is it that has you so spooked? Does it have anything to do with this prophecy? What do you know about everything that happened to my grandmother and why are you so afraid of speaking of what you know?_

Shaking his head in an effort to clear his mind, Takashi returned his attention to the various items piled on his desk. After heaving a nervous sigh, he reached out and picked up the letter that was addressed to him. He stared at his name for a full minute before he realized that it was written backwards with his given name placed before his surname in the format most often used by western societies. A frown creased his brow as he wondered what that might mean as he flipped the envelope over, pulled his letter opener out of his desk drawer, and carefully sliced open the top edge of the envelope.

Takashi pulled out a folded stack of papers and unfolded them expecting to find a long letter due to how many papers had been stuffed into the envelope. Instead he found two birth certificates, a marriage certificate, two death certificates, a certificate of adoption, what looked like two bank statements, an application of some sort, and a short scrap of parchment. Numbness settled over Takashi as he finally had solid proof that his grandmother had not died at the age of eighteen like he'd been told she had for as long as he could remember.

The first birth certificate was a second copy of his father's birth certificate while the second one was for another boy by the name of Potter, Jiro James. The marriage and death certificates were for his grandmother and a gentleman by the name of Edward Potter while the last certificate indicated that his uncle had been adopted by Matthew and Rebecca Potter shortly after his grandmother and her husband had passed away. Checking the dates on all of the certificates, Takashi discovered that Reiko had married this Edward person on February fourteenth, nineteen-fifty-six (a year _after_ Takashi had been born), gave birth to his uncle on March twenty-seventh, nineteen-sixty, and died along with her husband on September eighteenth, nineteen-sixty-two in a gas explosion.

"Gas explosion?" Takashi repeated slowly as he tilted his head to one side and focused on the cause of death printed on his grandmother's certificate. After a minute or two he set the small pile of certificates aside as he dug into the bottom drawer of his desk, shifting through the various files, documents, and records he kept in the desk. It took him a few minutes to find what he was searching for but eventually he pulled out three folders; one labeled Natsume Reiko, another labeled Natsume Seiichi & Chieko, and the last one with his name on it.

He tossed his and his parents' folders on the desk as he opened up the file he'd created to hold all of the important documents pertaining to his grandmother. It took him a few minutes of thumbing through medical records, immunization records, school records, and a handful of police reports for disorderly conduct before he found her birth and death certificates. He set the birth certificate aside and quickly read through the certificate of death until he located the cause of death and felt a chill run down his spine as he saw the words 'gas explosion'.

"How is it possible for the cause of death to be identical on both certificates?" Takashi asked of the air as he picked up the second certificate that had been in the envelope of documents addressed to him and compared the death certificates. "Both 'deaths' supposedly took place two years after she gave birth to each of her sons as well. In fact, the only differences between the two are the date and location listed at the time of death; if you don't take in the fact that the second one lists her as older and married. Did she fake one or both deaths? If so why? What purpose did it serve?"

Uncertain of what it all meant, Takashi pulled out a blank folder and tucked all of the birth certificates and death certificates into the new folder and labeled it; Investigation Documents. After a few minutes, he pulled out the birth certificates from his and his parents' folder along with his parent's certificates of death and added them to the new folder. He also added the expired plane ticket (and the official documents that had been inside of the tiny pamphlet), the napkin with the prophecy on it, and the translation he written of said prophecy.

Takashi then turned his attention to the two bank statements that had been in the envelope and felt his eyebrows disappear beneath his hair in shock as he discovered that the newer statement was for an account registered to one Natsume Reiko at the Shinagawa City branch of Tokyo Sogo Bank that had been opened in nineteen-sixty-one. The second, older statement on the other hand, was for an account under the name Reiko Potter at the Bank of England branch in Winsford, Cheshire which had been opened in nineteen-forty-one. Both accounts had what amounted to a significant fortune according to the two opening statements he held in his hands and he was more than a little curious about what had happened to the accounts but suspected both had been closed and the money split amongst his various extended family members.

Setting the statements into the folder with the certificates, Takashi turned his attention to the application and the slip of parchment which were the only two things he'd not yet scanned. The application turned out to be an application for a safety deposit box rental at the local bank that was filed and approved in June of nineteen-sixty-one. That had the back of Takashi's neck prickling as the safety deposit box had been rented out in his name in the same year he'd been given the Yujincho and Reiko's things had been left with the Fujiwaras; which was also the year the youkai from several weeks ago said she'd first met Reiko and the year Reiko had opened a bank account in Tokyo. That application also told him that the key he'd found was most likely the key to the rented safety deposit box as the number etched into the key matched the key number listed on the application.

"Things just keep getting creepier and creepier the deeper I dig," Takashi muttered darkly as he picked up the key and flipped it over a couple of times as if hoping it would give him some answers. Knowing he wouldn't be able to stop by the bank until Monday afternoon after classes, he tucked the key into his pocket and unfolded the scrap of parchment so he could see what was written there only to set it down after a moment as he sighed out, "Why am I not surprised?"

Written on the parchment, in both English and Japanese, were the following words:

_A dark fate awaits the dark child trapped alone in the shadows by shades  
>Born of two worlds he will be blessed and cursed with the gift of sight<br>His blood overrun by the powers of chaos and change; a twice gifted legacy  
>He, the tortured soul, a human child that resonates with great spiritual power<em>

"A simple riddle? A second prophecy? A missing portion of the prophecy from the napkin?" Takashi mused as he brought his hands up to massage his temples in the hopes of soothing away the headache that had begun forming. "It makes about as much sense as the first one in any event."

Not feeling up to thinking about the mystery that was his grandmother's life any more for the moment, Takashi tucked the parchment into the folder with the rest of the evidence he'd collected so far. He then pulled out several additional folders and began tucking each of the various piles cluttering his desk into the folders that he labeled with the name of the country that corresponded with the country of origin of the items inside. Once he had everything put away, he grabbed his briefcase from the floor and locked all of the folders inside so that they wouldn't be disturbed or worse destroyed. Satisfied that everything was safe, Takashi hid the briefcase behind his bookshelf and made his way out of the house.

He spent the rest of the morning and half the afternoon wandering around town without really paying any attention to where he was going. When he finally registered his current surroundings, he was unsurprised to discover that he was standing outside of the bank where the safety deposit box had been rented in his name twenty-six years earlier. Reaching into his pocket he wrapped his fingers around the key for a brief moment as he stared at the closed sign that had been hung the doors before he turned and walked away. Just before he turned the corner, he looked back at the bank and silently promised himself that he'd be back at the first opportunity. He then turned back around and headed home.

* * *

><p>It wouldn't be until Wednesday afternoon that Takashi actually found the time to return to the bank. Upon entering the bank, Takashi headed straight for the nearest unoccupied teller who in turn directed him to a desk at the back of the lobby. Forty-eight minutes and three signatures later, Takashi exited the bank carrying a medium sized box made from polished mahogany.<p>

Takashi headed straight home, a burning curiosity filling him as he wondered what might be inside the box he'd found inside of the safety deposit box. He had been tempted to open it while he was still inside of the bank but had held off since he was uncertain if the box held anything that could potentially be dangerous (like a sealed demon or something along those lines). He was joined for a short time halfway home by an obviously drunk Nyanko-sensei who had taken one look at the box under his arm and whimpered before he darted off without a word. Takashi had stopped and stared after the fleeing cat for a full five minutes as a feeling of dread spread through his stomach before he continued on his way; all the while pondering his bodyguard's strange behavior over the past three and a half weeks.

"Oi, Takashi! Wait up!"

"Oi, oi, Takashi, wait for us!"

Takashi turned around to see Kitamoto Atsushi and Nishimura Satoru, two young men he'd befriended shortly after he moved in with the Fujiwaras seventeen years earlier, running towards him. Smiling, Takashi stopped and waited for the two to catch up to him before he greeted them warmly, "Konnichiwa."

"Where have you been, Natsume?" Atsushi demanded as he folded himself over and propped his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. "We've been looking for you for hours!"

"I had a few things I needed to take care of," Takashi answered in confusion. "Why have the two of you been looking for me? Was there something you needed?"

"We wanted to invite you to come with us to the hot springs this coming weekend," Satoru explained. "I know it's short notice but my parents had made reservations months ago and they can't go because my father has to attend a conference for work in place of a co-worker who was in an accident earlier this week. It's too late to change the dates so my mother suggested I take a few friends in their place so as not to let the reservations go to waste."

"What day?"

"The reservations are for Friday and Saturday night, so we'll be leaving Friday afternoon and staying until mid-afternoon on Sunday."

"I don't have any classes Friday afternoon," Takashi mused as he considered the offer. "So long as Touko-san and Shigeru-san don't need my help around the house this weekend it would be nice to take a bit of a break."

"Great!" Atsushi declared as he finally stood up and grinned at Takashi. "You'll let us know later tonight if you can go?"

"Yeah, I'll call you after supper," Takashi promised.

"Call my cell phone," Satoru instructed as the pair headed back the way they came.

"Wakatta," Takashi replied as he waved one last time before continuing on his way home.

In the end, Takashi would not be able to visit the hot springs with his friends that weekend. He'd opened the package he'd picked up from the bank in his room shortly after getting home and the first thing he found was a letter addressed to him and a sealed copy of his grandmother's will. Or rather, he'd found both of his grandmother's wills; one that dealt exclusively with her estate in Japan under her maiden name and the other a copy of a joint will she'd made out with her husband dealing with their combined estate in England. There was, of course, far more to be found inside of the mahogany box but the letter was the only thing he'd had time to read before he'd needed to make a few phone calls regarding the wills.

Thursday evening found him stepping off the train in the heart of Shinagawa City in Tokyo. A quick glance around the crowded station was all it took to find his contact from the law firm; a middle-aged man dressed in a black chauffeur's uniform who was holding a cardboard sign with his name scrawled across it in black ink. Takashi was then taken to a rather posh hotel where he was checked into his room for the night after being informed by the man who'd collected him from the station that he'd be back at seven sharp to pick him up in the morning.

He was more than a little overwhelmed by the extravagance with which he found himself being treated; having been delivered to the hotel by limousine, being checked into a rather high class hotel he knew he couldn't afford to stay in, and having his evening meal delivered right to his door unexpectedly by the hotel staff. It was an experience he wasn't certain how to deal with since for most of his life he'd lived with families that had had to scrimp and scrounge to make ends meet or made just enough to get by. He'd also worked hard over the past fourteen years to pay for the various classes he'd been taking at the local university in the hopes that he could one day help the children that, like him, could see the youkai and suffered for it.

It was due to his childhood spent in near poverty as an unwanted orphan passed from one distant relative to the next that he felt more than a touch uncomfortable surrounded by such elegance. Takashi was at least thankful that Nyanko-sensei had opted to stay home and watch over the house while he was gone; which, while slightly out of character for the youkai parading as a cat, meant that the spoiled spirit wasn't around to take advantage of the situation. It was a thought that helped Takashi relax enough to get some sleep as he drifted off with a wry smile on his face later that night after he'd eaten supper and taken a hot shower.

Takashi was up and dressed in a suit he'd borrowed from Shigeru by six o'clock the next morning, his growing anxiety having pushed him out of bed well before five. Room service delivered a light breakfast at six-fifteen along with a reminder that his ride would pick him up outside of the hotel in forty-five minutes. At a quarter till seven when he was ready to check out, Takashi gathered up his overnight bag and his briefcase as he swept the room with his eyes in order to make certain he hadn't forgotten anything before he headed down to the lobby. Fifteen minutes later, he was sliding into the backseat of yet another limousine that would take him to the Law Offices of Uzumaki and Nakashima where he would be meeting with the senior partner, Nakashima Ichiro.

Nine hours later, Takashi boarded the train bound for Takashima Town, Shiga in a complete daze. He'd spent the first hour in the limousine as the chauffeur navigated the traffic congestion that plagued the streets of Tokyo. Once he arrived at the Law Offices of Uzumaki and Nakashima, Takashi had been introduced to several people (who's names and faces he'd soon forgot) before he'd been bustled into a conference room where he spent the next hour proving he was who he said he was, waiting for the copy of the will he had in possession to be confirmed as an official copy of his grandmother's will, and finally reading through his grandmother's last will and testament. He would then spend another two hours listening to a slew of legal jargon as Nakashima-sama dissected his grandmother's will, initialing and signing a small forest's worth of legal documents, and going over every aspect of his unexpected inheritance.

Nakashima-sama had then made arrangements for lunch to be delivered to Takashi while the man disappeared to make a few phone calls. Half an hour later he was told that he had an appointment with the manager of the Tokyo Sogo Bank in order to transfer his grandmother's account into his name. The thirty-two year old then spent another hour and a half in traffic sitting in the back of the same limo that had picked him up earlier that morning with a thick folder containing copies of all the legal documents he'd just signed clutched tightly in his hands. At the bank he would spend another two hours sequestered with the branch manager again proving he was who he said he was, initialing and signing another boat-load of forms, and going over the current state and balance of the account and various stocks he'd inherited from his grandmother.

Ten percent of the funds in the account would, of course, be used to pay the legal fees and to pay any taxes due but that would still leave Takashi with enough money that he'd never have to work another day in his life if he so desired. That wasn't even taking into consideration the various stocks and bonds that had been left to him (things he hadn't even known his grandmother had), which if managed properly, would make it so his children's children wouldn't have to work a day in their lives either. The sheer wealth he'd just obtained in the span of twenty-four hours was shell-shocking and he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the concept that he was now filthy rich.

Somehow he'd made it back out to the limousine that had been waiting for him and spent his final hour in Tokyo sitting numbly in the back of the obscenely long car as the driver navigated through the afternoon traffic on the way to the train station. If not for the chauffeur's gentle guidance once they reached the station, Takashi probably would have never made it onto his train due to the fact that his mind was far removed from reality. He didn't sleep a wink during the long train ride and barely registered the conductor helping him gather his belongings when he reached the station in Takashima. In fact, he wouldn't become aware of his surroundings until later that morning when he walked unseeingly into the kitchen at the Fujiwaras and was bombarded by Touko-san's concern.

"Takashi-kun, what's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost; you're all pale and shaky! Are you hurt? Are you sick? Should I call the doctor?"

"I'm… I'm fine, Touko-san," Takashi assured his concerned foster mother with a small smile as he snapped out of his daze and set his briefcase on the table as he tiredly dropped down into the nearest chair. "I'm just a little overwhelmed and tired."

"What happened?"

"I spent yesterday morning meeting with a lawyer…"

"You're not in some kind of trouble are you? Does this have anything to do with that night you vanished from your room and came back all bruised the next day? You haven't been running with the wrong crowds have you? You know you can come to us if you need any help, ne?"

"I'm not in any trouble, I haven't broken any laws, and you've met all of my friends," Takashi quickly countered with a little exasperation over the conclusions Touko had leapt to the moment she heard the word lawyer. "I met with the lawyer because I'd come across my grandmother's will when I was going through some of her old documents the other day."

"I didn't know Reiko-chan had left a will."

"No one did, which is why it was such a shock to find it in her old things," Takashi continued now that Touko wasn't quite so worried and flustered. He grew a little uncomfortable now that he was going to drop the bombshell on the woman that had become a mother to him in his eyes but he plowed on as best he could before he lost his nerve, "She'd left most of her estate to the only child of her first born son with just a couple of small bequests to a few select individuals."

"Ano… that doesn't make any sense; your father was her only son," Touko pointed out in confusion.

"Iie, she gave birth to a second son before she died."

"Nani!"

"Reiko-san didn't die in nineteen-thirty-five, it turns out she left Japan," Takashi explained tiredly as he opened the briefcase and pulled out the folder containing all of the certificates for his parents, uncle, and grandparents and passed it over to Touko. "I don't know why she was declared dead at the time; I've just started an investigation into that claim. She ended up in England in nineteen-forty, married in nineteen-fifty-six, gave birth to my uncle in nineteen-sixty, and died in nineteen-sixty two."

"Where did you find all of this? When did you find these?"

"I found them tucked inside of a book in Reiko's things earlier this week. I didn't say anything sooner because I wasn't certain if they were real or not. Like I said, I've started an investigation as to what actually happened that day that my grandmother was supposed to have died. I'm most likely going to have to travel to England at some point in order to track down my uncle and see if he has any answers."

"This is… we never knew… Shigeru would know where her ashes were enshrined," Touko whispered as her eyes shone with unshed tears. "I don't know how you would go about identifying whose remains they are if she didn't die."

"Nakashima-sama, the lawyer I met with yesterday, helped me fill out the forms to request DNA testing to determine the authenticity of her remains," Takashi murmured. "Once her ashes have been located, they will take a small sample for testing and compare it to a DNA sample taken from my blood and hair. I dislike the idea of disturbing the spirits of the dead but I would not want to be left wondering if those ashes are the remains of someone else's long lost loved one. Everyone deserves closure and a chance to say goodbye."

"You have such a kind heart, Takashi-kun. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions earlier, I should have known you would not purposefully go looking for trouble or find yourself on the wrong side of the law," Touko apologized as she leaned down to hug Takashi. "These revelations must have been unsettling; no wonder you looked so pale and distraught when you first arrived. Let me make you some tea while you tell me what else you've learned."

"Arigatou, Touko-san. There's not really that much more information that I've been able to uncover, I know my uncle was adopted by someone on his father's side of the family after Reiko and her husband died. But what happened to him after that I couldn't say. Is he still alive? Did he marry? Does he have any children? Does he know I exist? There are so many questions I have that I won't be able to answer until I can find the time to take a trip to England. The earliest I could even think of going would be this summer but I was hoping to pick up a couple of classes this summer to get them out of the way so I am one step closer to earning my doctorate."

"I honestly don't know why you push yourself so hard: you rarely ever take any time for yourself. Work, work, work; that's all you do. You're going to drive yourself to distraction if you keep piling on so many classes each semester on top of working all of those odd jobs around town. You should take this summer off and relax for a bit; even if you decide not to track down this newly discovered uncle just yet."

"I want to make something of myself, to be able to help those who don't have anyone who will listen to them and I needed to pay you and Shigeru-san back for all you've done for me," Takashi stated simply with a shrug of his shoulder as he accepted the cup of tea that Touko pressed into his hands. "I owe you both so much for taking me in and saving me from my bitter solitude. But if it will ease your mind, you'll be happy to know that I won't be working two jobs this summer like I usually do between classes."

"I am happy to hear that but why the sudden change of plans, Takashi-kun?"

"Reiko's estate was a little more extensive than was previously believed and I inherited the majority of her… significant fortune. How no one knew just how much money she had I couldn't even begin to guess."

"That is wonderful news; it eases my mind to know that you will have something to help you stay afloat when you finish your education and set out to make a career for yourself. And I don't want to hear any foolish nonsense about you trying to give Shigeru and I any portion of that money out of any misguided sense of obligation, young man! It's bad enough you've been trying to give us your hard earned money all these years. Shigeru and I have been getting by just fine and you are apart of our family."

"I wasn't going to, not because I don't think you deserve it because I do, but because I know neither of you would accept any money from me," Takashi replied with a fond smile. He then smirked as he pulled out a sealed envelope from his briefcase that was addressed to the Fujiwaras and pushed it across the table as he continued, "However, you and Shigeru can't stop me from giving you the money that Reiko bequeathed to you in her will. A bequest, I might add, that has already been signed, sealed, and as of two seconds ago; delivered. You'll just need to contact the back to make arrangements for the money to be transferred to your account."

"Takashi-kun!" Touko tried to protest.

"Nope… it's a done deal, Touko-san. You don't have any choice in the matter and for once it's not because I'm being stubborn. If you have any complaints; take them up with Reiko-san. She's the one that left you a small fraction of her fortune as a way of saying thank you. How she knew you'd be the ones who would take me in with open arms after all of the years I spent being shuffled from house to house I couldn't say but the fact of the matter is that you and Shigeru-san deserve what Reiko-san left you. There is no one else more worthy of that money than you and I don't need or want it because I have more money than I know what to do with now thanks to my grandmother."

Takashi finished his tea, pulled out a sealed envelope that held another copy of his grandmother's will (for Touko and Shigeru's records) and set it on the table beside the claim forms from the lawyer before gathering up the folder containing the various certificates and placing it safely back into the briefcase. He then rinsed out his cup, pecked a shell-shocked Touko-san on the check, and headed up to his room so he could take a quick shower before catching up on all of the sleep he'd missed the night before. He'd barely stepped into the room when he was faced with an interrogation from Nyanko.

"Where have you been, Natsume? What kind of trouble have you been getting into? Have you finally put aside your foolish notions of digging into things better left alone? Did you bring me any yeast buns?"

"I told you where I was going before I left. I haven't been in any trouble. I don't know what you're talking about. And no, I didn't buy you any yeast buns."

"What kind of a servant are you! I specifically ordered you to bring me home a bag of yeast buns."

"Shut-up, sensei!"

"Baka! I want my yeast buns."

"Not happening."

Nyanko began grumbling under his breath as he stalked away from Takashi and jumped onto the desk where he pointed a paw at the mahogany box that was sitting there as he turned to face Takashi from over his shoulder, "You need to get rid of this cursed box before you come to a rather sticky end."

Takashi snorted as he tossed his duffle bag into the corner and carried his briefcase over to the desk and set it beside said 'cursed box'. He then lifted the lid from top of the box and began sorting through all of the items he'd not paid attention to after he'd found the wills and the short letter that had been with the wills. He found two leather-bound journals, a long slender box, a pair of tiny silver keys, several antique crystal bottles filled with what looked like quicksilver, and a folded sheaf of parchment. The moment Takashi touched the long, thin box Nyanko let out a hissing growl and transformed back into his natural form, grabbed Takashi by the back of the shirt, and hauled him away from the box of items.

"Sensei! Put me down!" Takashi demanded as he reached back and bopped Madara on the nose before turning around to glare at the now cowering youkai now that he was not longer being dragged backwards by his shirt. "What has gotten into you lately?"

"**I told you that box was cursed, Natsume**," Madara growled before he returned to his cat form. "I don't know why you keep insisting on blindly running headfirst towards your death."

"If you can't just come out and tell me what you are so afraid of I don't want to hear any more of your cryptic warnings," Takashi declared. "I also want you to quit trying to get me to stop investigating what happened to Reiko; she was my grandmother and nearly half of everything I've been told about her has been a lie. I need to know the truth."

Turning his back on the now sulking cat, Takashi returned to his desk and picked up one of the two journals and idly flipped through it for a moment before he opened it up to the first page where he found the familiar words of what Nyanko had insisted was a prophecy. Only, instead of just four short and simple lines, this one had eighteen lines. It was written out first in English with the Japanese translation written out just a little ways down the page. All former thoughts of having a shower and a nap leaving his mind as he stared down at the words.

"Sensei… about that prophecy… what can you tell me about it?" Takashi asked softly, the underlying steel in his tone indicating that he wouldn't put up with any more evasions.

"It foretells the end of the world," Nyanko bluntly stated with a frown. "You've only seen a fraction of the full prophecy and there is no one alive today, human or youkai, that knows the entire thing."

Takashi paled slightly as he dropped his eyes back to the words in the journal in his hands as he mechanically began reading out the Japanese translation;

_Two sons born of two worlds living without the gift of sight  
>The first shall be abandoned on a dark night filled with superstition<br>The second shall be torn from his family three times by death  
>A book divided by language, land, and time <em>

_Two families bound by blood; two families blind to unseen bonds  
>Two sons beget two sons blessed with the gift of sight<br>Two curses to set two children on the dark path of loneliness  
>Two halves bound by blood, hunted by the unseen, and separated by time<em>

_The first child shall wander alone until he finds the light  
>Half a book shall wait in the light and free that which was bound<br>The second child teeters on the cusp of darkness bound by destiny's touch  
>Half a book shall hide in shadows and choke the light with pain and blood<em>

_Let not the wolf in cat's clothing lose himself to the fear least he loose the light  
>Let not the light cower behind fear and doubt least he fall to the shadows<br>Let not the bonds of lives past bind the light to the land of his ancestors  
>Let not the book of the bound bathed in sunlight fall into the hands of shades<em>

_Only when the two halves have been reunited will the light banish the shades  
>Legacy of the gift, bound by blood, born through deception<em>

"That is only half of the prophecy," Nyanko announced with wide eyes as he sat up on his hind legs and focused his entire attention on the book in Takashi's hands.

"I think I might know another four lines," Takashi admitted as he dug into his briefcase until he found the scrap of parchment that he had thought might be part of the same prophecy. He unfolded the thick vellum and cleared his throat before reading out the Japanese translation of what had been written there.

_A dark fate awaits the dark child trapped alone in the shadows by shades  
>Born of two worlds he will be blessed and cursed with the gift of sight<br>His blood overrun by the powers of chaos and change; a twice gifted legacy  
>He, the tortured soul, a human child that resonates with great spiritual power<em>

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese – English

Ano – Um or uh  
>Arigatou – Thank you<br>Baka – Idiot  
>Hai – Yes<br>Iie – No  
>Konnichiwa – Good afternoon<br>Nani – What (can also be written as na nani)  
>Ne – Sometimes added to the end of a sentence for emphasis and usually translated as 'right' and depending on the inflection can be a confirmation or affirmation of the preceding statement or turn it into a question.<br>Oi – Hey  
>Wakatta – Understood, fine, okay<p>

**Name Meanings:**

Atsushi – Industrious director  
>Chieko – Child of intelligence or wisdom<br>Ichiro – First son  
>Jiro – Second son<br>Madara – Spot, blemish, speck, or patches  
>Nakashima – Center island<br>Nishimura – West village  
>Nyanko – something to do with cat, but I don't know the exact translation.<br>Satoru – Wise, fast learner  
>Shigeru – Luxuriant, well grown<br>Uzumaki – Whirlpool

The meanings of the names not on the list were not found. I mostly looked them up for my own curiosity anyway and only added them for those that might be curious like me. =)

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And there we have the connection between Natsume and the Potters. The prophecy is a bit wordy I know but my cat wrote it for me by walking across the keyboard… well not really but I have no other excuse and the cat usually gets blamed for everything that isn't blamed on the poltergeist… The next chapter will has more information about the prophecy and will show a time skip back to an earlier time to see what is happening with little Harry._

_And for those who speak Japanese or those who are familiar with the various forms of address that are often added to a person's name (san, chan, kun, etc…) I'm aware that a mother figure isn't or wouldn't be addressed by the suffix san in normal situations. However, I had Takashi continue to address Touko as Touko-san because she is very important to him and he respects both her and her husband for everything that they have done for him when he first came to live with them. I can see him using the san with fondness making it mean more than it normally does so that it would be the same as a small child calling their mother kaasan; if that makes sense to any one but me. I suppose you could consider it a quirk of Takashi's… ~ Jenn_

**08-01-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	4. A Crash Course in Divination

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 3: A Crash Course in Divination<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>8:53 P.M. Friday May 29, 1987<em>

Takashi sighed and rubbed a hand over his face as he tore his eyes from the text book he was supposed to be reading in preparation for class first thing Monday morning. All week long he'd been having trouble focusing and his teachers had begun to notice. If he didn't get his act together soon his grades were going to start suffering and he couldn't afford that since it would mean a drop in his GPA and the likelihood of being forced to either cut back his course load or repeat classes next semester. Neither option was in any way appealing. The problem was that he couldn't stop thinking about the words of the partial prophecy that he'd found inside what he assumed was his grandmother's journal.

Huffing in exasperation, Takashi slammed his book shut before tucking it back inside of his backpack. There was no point in trying to study if he couldn't even focus on the textbook for more than five minutes at a time. He folded his arms as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back so he was half hanging over the back of the chair as he tried to clear his mind. When that didn't work, he sat up and reluctantly pulled his grandmother's journal out of the top drawer of his desk and opened it up to the first page where the words of the prophecy marred the otherwise pristine cream colored parchment that filled the leather bound notebook.

Turning the page he started reading the notes his grandmother had made as she attempted to deduce the meaning of the prophecy for the second or third time that week. It was a bit confusing the way she'd broken it down first by line then by what she called key phrases and then listed several possible meanings or references for each phrase before stringing it back together in the hopes of her interpretation would make sense in the context of the actual words. The fact that she did this in both English and Japanese only made it more confusing as the prophecy would take on multiple meanings depending on which words and which language was used.

Eight pages of various translations and interpretations later, he found what his grandmother had called a rough guesstimate of the meaning of the first verse of the prophecy and even that had gaping holes in it. That was as far as he'd gotten the first couple of times he'd read through the journal and while he still wasn't certain he'd followed his grandmother's logic he turned the page and read through her notes regarding the second verse. That one was nearly as convoluted as the first verse but at one point in the notes Reiko mentioned that the second verse indicated that the two sons in the first verse were some how related.

She also speculated that the prophecy pertained not to the sons mentioned in the first verse but actually to the first born sons of the sons as defined by the first verse. In parenthesis beside that note she'd written 'my first two grandsons' with a question mark at the end which she then underscored in red ink. She also made references to her lonely and less than pleasant childhood and postulated that the 'gift of sight' could actually be a reference to the ability to see youkai but had no proof. Takashi could actually see how her theory could be correct as he thought back to his own unpleasant and lonely childhood because he saw things other people didn't.

Sitting back, Takashi thought about what he'd read so far and how the past in some ways reflected the prophecy based upon what he'd learned. _Reiko gave birth to two children, the first one, my father, was left here in Japan and the second one was adopted by family after Reiko and her husband died. Did his adoptive parents die as well? Would that signify the second death? What of the third? My father, from what I have learned, had been unable to see youkai and yet I have been able to see them for as long as I could remember. That would indicate that my uncle had also been unable to see them and has at least one son who can see the spirits. _

He picked up the book and flipped back to the first page where the unfiltered prophecy had been written and studied the lines once more. _What does it mean by a book divided? Rieko had not written any possible meanings for that line in either of the first sections._ Shaking his head he skipped down to the second verse and continued to see how much more of his and what he knew of his grandmother's past fit the parameters of the prophecy. _Two families bound by blood could refer to my father and uncle with both of them possibly growing up without knowing they had a sibling; won't know for certain until I find my uncle. I already guessed that the second line potentially refers to me and a cousin. No clue what it means by curses but the line about two children could easily refer to me and my cousin if Reiko was correct in that the prophecy is speaking of her grandchildren and not her two sons. The loneliness must refer to our childhoods which means that my cousin is or was growing up alone; just as I did for the most part. _

That thought sent a pang through Takashi's heart as he could easily imagine how much it hurt to be alone and unwanted due to the youkai that had inevitably found him no matter where he lived. He prayed that the prophecy was wrong about that bit as he focused on the last line of the second verse. _Two halves most likely refers to the two families. And the youkai still hunt me and since most people can't see them they would logically be considered unseen. Separated by time? Could it have something to do with the fact that my father and my uncle were born twenty-seven years apart? Logically that would mean my cousin is at least twenty years younger than me, if my uncle had him at age fifteen, but more likely closer to twenty-three or twenty-four years younger than I am. _

"So where does that leave us?" Takashi asked the room as he glanced at the clock and sighed as he realized it was now well after midnight. He closed the journal and picked it up in order to put it back in the desk only to hesitate for a second before he flipped it open to the section where his grandmother dissected the third verse and continued reading. He'd just reached the part where Reiko wrote down her belief that the book referred to throughout the entire prophecy was the Yujincho and he felt a chill settle over him. As he stared down at the words written in the journal without seeing them, the fragment of a memory floated up from the depths of his subconscious.

_The message that Reiko left with me for you is this: My heart weeps for the years of loneliness that you will have faced because of the gift you inherited from me. I leave to you half of my legacy in the hopes that you will one day walk in the light and your heart may guide you through the coming darkness._

"Half… only half," Takashi muttered as he furrowed his brow. "Does that mean that somewhere out there is another Yujincho? Divided by language, land, and time… The book that was left for me to find is written in Japanese as the youkai that were bound to it were native to Japan. Does that mean the other half of the book is in another language? Does it contain the names of youkai from another country? From England? How can a book be separated by time? Could the reference be the time between when she added the final entry to the book I have and when she created the first entry in the second half of the book?"

"What are you babbling about, Natsume?" Nyanko inquired as he climbed in through the open window and glanced in Takashi's direction. "And shouldn't you be in bed at this time of night?"

Takashi just absently waved away the cat's questions as he dove back into the journal and continued picking apart his grandmother's suppositions and adding his own opinions to what she'd written. He felt uneasy as he reached the interpretation of the second two lines of the third verse, his thoughts automatically turning to his less than pleasant experiences with the Matoba group and the way they considered the youkai as inferior beings to be exterminated. How those with abilities like his used their youkai servants cruelly in order to make a name for themselves or build a fortune. The thought of people like them with a portion of the Yujincho in their possession sent a chill down Takashi's spine.

Without stopping to dwell on his own dark memories, Takashi moved on to the next verse of the prophecy and froze as he read the first line to himself and then glanced up to watch Nyanko-sensei curling up on his pillow. Leaning forward he fixed the youkai wearing the physical body of a cat with a penetrating gaze as he waited for the youkai to give him his attention.

"Stop staring at me, baka!" Nyanko barked.

"You are the wolf in cat's clothing," Takashi declared as he ignored the demand. "You are terrified of the part you are supposed to play in this prophecy… that is why you didn't want me digging into Reiko's past. You are afraid of what this prophecy will mean for you."

For several tense minutes, Takashi thought the powerful youkai was going to revert back to his natural form and attack him for daring to confront him. He held his breath and curled his right hand into a fist in the event he needed to protect himself only to let his breath out in relief a minute later when Nyanko simply harrumphed and turned his back on Takashi. Turning back to his grandmother's journal, Takashi continued reading and felt as if someone punched him in the stomach when he discovered that his grandmother's notes now had him, referenced by name, listed as 'the light' referred to in the prophecy.

The thing that bothered him the most is that he knew she was most likely correct as there were several lines of the prophecy that hinted intimately at his past. Specifically, the first two lines of the third verse spoke of his childhood, finding the Yujincho, and what sounded like his self imposed task of returning the names of the youkai. If he was right, then the middle two lines of the fourth verse told him what he needed to do. That meant he needed to set aside his fear and doubts and leave Japan to… _To what?_ Takashi asked himself as he frowned down at the book. _What exactly is it I am supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?_

Closing his eyes, Takashi massaged his temples as he tried to calm his racing thoughts and try to approach the prophecy using a bit more logic. He also tried not to focus his attention solely on the prophecy because there was far more involved than just some silly riddles that spoke of the past and the future. _What do I know for certain at this point? I know my grandmother had two sons, I know my grandmother ended up in England, and I know that what ever is going on potentially revolves around the Yujincho. Speculation shows that there is a high probability that both myself and my potential cousin are going to end up smack dab in the middle of whatever mess is brewing and that Nyanko-sensei can or will affect the outcome._

Takashi opened his eyes and returned to his reading feeling a bit more centered; hoping that the rest of Reiko's notes would help him fill in the holes that plagued his inner musings and suppositions. There were only four more pages of notes going over the various meanings and translations of the last two lines of what Nyanko-san had called half of the prophecy and then the rest of the journal appeared blank. Wanting to keep his own notes in one place with his grandmother's, Takashi pulled out a pen and began jotting down his thoughts on the prophecy, his opinions about his grandmother's notes, and listed the various facts that he'd already confirmed.

He then wrote down all of the questions he had swirling around in his head so he wouldn't forget them over time. When he finished, he felt far freer than he had in days and hoped that meant that he'd be able to focus on his class assignments over the rest of the weekend. He set down his pen as he finished copying down his last question and lifted the back cover of the journal with the intent of closing the notebook and watched as the blank pages drifted down to lie flat before closing the cover. He was just lifting the book to return it to the drawer when his mind finally registered what he'd seen as the pages had fallen into place.

Pulling the back cover open, Takashi flipped through the pages quickly until he came across a section in the back of the book where his grandmother had written additional notes and spent several seconds shuffling back through the pages until he found the start of the notes. Once he did he let out a soft cry as he read the words of what could only be the missing half of the prophecy; having easily recognized the first verse. Hands shaking, Takashi read through the additional eighteen lines; the blood draining from his face the further down the prophecy he read.

_A dark fate awaits the dark child trapped alone in the shadows by shades  
>Born of two worlds he will be blessed and cursed with the gift of sight<br>His blood overrun by the powers of chaos and change; a twice gifted legacy  
>He, the tortured soul, a human child that resonates with great spiritual power<em>

_Unwanted and unloved he will drift through the hands of fate wrapped in darkness  
>Torn from his mothers arms by death; hailed a hero by strangers and hunted by shades<br>Lost and alone he shall wallow in pain and fear until the shadows claim his soul  
>Haunted and hunted by nightmares and apparitions alike he shall embrace silence<em>

_Broken dreams, shattered trust, and empty promises force him from the light  
>Tears and blood flow from the innocents who pay the price for that which was lost<br>Darkness shall rise greater than ever should the dark child turn to the shadows  
>Darkness shall drown out the light of the world should the dark child break<em>

_Let not the wolf in cat's clothing turn from the light least the dark child be lost  
>Let not the light turn his back on the dark child least his fate be sealed<br>Let not the sons and daughters of chaos and change lead the dark child astray  
>Let not the book of the bound bathed in shadows be torn from the dark child<em>

_Only when the two halves have been reunited will the light banish the shades  
>Legacy of the gift, bound by blood, born through deception<em>

Takashi spent the rest of the night reading through his grandmother's notes on the second half of the prophecy, adding a few ideas of his own every now and then. He kept his notes regarding both halves of the prophecy together in one place since it was easier to tie them together instead of keeping them separate like his grandmother had. He was able to answer a few of the earlier questions he'd had but for each question that was answered another five cropped up to take its place. Takashi also greatly disliked the idea that his younger cousin could possibly be suffering far more than he had when he'd been younger.

In fact, the more he thought of the numerous references to his cousin as the dark child the angrier he grew. He wanted… no _needed_ to protect the younger boy and help him see that he isn't alone and that not all of the youkai were monsters. Something he, himself, had not learned until he'd turned fifteen and come to live with the Fujiwaras. He only prayed that it wasn't too late to save the child, who he guessed would be somewhere between eight and twelve years of age.

It wasn't until sometime after dawn that Takashi finally set his pen down and closed the journal one last time. He'd dissected every line of the prophecy, torn apart every single one of his grandmother's theories, and reconstructed what he thought was the most accurate interpretation of the entire prophecy to date. Sure, there were still far too many holes and more than a few guesses that held his theories together but he thought he'd made a more informed translation of the prophecy based upon the things he knew his grandmother couldn't have known at the time.

Weary and his mind blissfully silent for the first time in days, Takashi put away the journal and turned off the little desk lamp before he stood up and made his way to his bed where Nyanko-sensei was snoring on his pillow. Five minutes later, he was out cold.

* * *

><p><em>Little Whinging, Surrey, England<br>8:34 A.M. Monday, May 21, **1984**_

Petunia Dursley, a rather thin woman with a long neck and stiffly curled blonde hair, struggled to pull the pants up on a blonde beach ball that had grown arms and legs. The beach ball, who was actually a four year old boy by the name of Dudley and Petunia's beloved son, was hindering her efforts with the stubborn determination of a child who was used to getting his way. Petunia finally appealed to her son's better nature in order to get him to cooperate; in other words she bribed him with the offer of his favorite treat and the struggling ceased instantly. Huffing with exertion, Petunia finally managed to pull the pants up into place and quickly snapped the button before Dudley changed his mind. The pudgy boy's shoes went on with far less of a fuss and ten minutes later both mother and son were out the door.

The sound of the door snapping closed followed by the grating of a key turning the deadbolt filtered in through the small vent that had been installed on the door to the cupboard under the stairs nearly a year earlier. Inside of the cupboard, a small boy with messy black hair and emerald green eyes glanced up at the door to his cupboard before glancing back down at the picture book he'd been reading. Now most people would expect an almost four year old to panic if they so much as thought they'd been left home alone. Normal four year olds, however, did not live inside of a closest beneath the staircase though and normal four year olds did not become terrified at the mere thought of stepping out their front door, let alone exiting said dark cupboard.

Harry James Potter was not a normal four year old; in fact, he was so far removed from normal that he could be consider the anti-normal… if there was such a thing. Aside from the fact that he had chosen to live inside of the cupboard under the stairs and his persistent fear of any place that was not his cupboard, he was also known to see things that other people believed could not possibly exist. Flights of fancy, his Aunt Petunia called them. A bloody nuisance and utter nonsense was his Uncle Vernon's opinion. His cousin Dudley just thought he was brain damaged; when the fat little boy thought of him at all. All three of his relatives readily agreed that he was unnatural; they couldn't help themselves since little Harry never even tried to prove them wrong. He couldn't. He knew he was an unnatural freak.

Just as he knew there were no less than fifteen not-peoples standing around in the hall just outside of his cupboard. Who were these not-peoples? They were the monsters that had haunted and hunted young Harry for as long as he could remember. They were the monsters that followed him everywhere; except his cupboard. As far as he knew no one else in the entire world could see the not-people (not that he actually knew that many people) and so he suffered their presence in silence.

That was another unnatural part of the young child; he never made a sound. When he was younger he had spoken, giggled, and shrieked often until the day he came to live with the Dursleys. Over the months he slowly began talking less and less until one day he suddenly just stopped altogether. He never spoke, never hummed, never screamed; not one single sound had he made during the past sixteen months. It was unnerving and utterly unnatural. In contrast to his enduring silence, his eyes spoke volumes to anyone who dared meet his gaze. Those beautiful green orbs reflected a soul tormented with indescribable terror, unbearable emotional pain, and a heartbreaking loneliness that would make even the most ruthless of people weep in sorrow should they experience even the smallest fraction of what the child had endured.

Now, there are those who would think the worst of the Dursleys should they discover Harry's presence; those who would blame them and accuse them of neglecting and abusing the young child. And they would be wrong. In fact, the Dursleys had done everything they knew to do in order to try and give the strange child that was their nephew a normal life. He had a normal bedroom filled with normal furniture, toys, and clothes. He was offered a normal sized meal three times a day, every day, without fail. And he was often encouraged to spend time outside playing or sitting in front of the television watching cartoons with his cousin.

It was not the Dursleys' fault that Harry refused to sleep in his bed, play with his toys, or wear his clothes. It was not the Dursleys' fault that Harry barely ate a quarter of the food he was offered at each meal. And it certainly was not the Dursley's fault that Harry refused to willingly set foot outside of his cupboard. If not for the Dursleys' endless well of patience in dealing with their nephew's abnormal behavior; the boy would not be hauled from his cupboard at least once a week for a hot bath, he wouldn't be receiving daily doses of children's vitamins to make up for what he didn't gain through his diet, he would not have a ready supply of story books to occupy his attention during the long hours he hid in his closest, and he would have never been potty trained so he could use the toilet when the need arose (even if said toilet was nothing more than a toddlers training toilet tucked into the corner of his cupboard because he refused to use the bathroom like a normal person).

The only thing the Dursleys could rightly be accused of is overindulgence when it came to the two children in their care. Their son, whom both parents adored, was showered with love and affection and no small amount of material things. Their nephew on the other hand was given free reign when it came to where he lived and slept, what he ate, and just how often he allowed himself to be evicted from his cupboard turned sanctuary. Neither boy was forced to perform chores around the house nor was either boy ever spanked for even the most blatant disrespect or tantrum; not that their nephew ever really threw tantrums (unless they tried to pull him from his cupboard when he didn't want to leave it or heaven forbid, try to get him to step outside the house).

Harry suddenly tensed and clutched at the side of his book as the unseen hands of the not-people rattled the door in an attempt to remove the barrier that was separating them from their prey. His breath caught in the back of his throat as one of the monster people stuck unnaturally thin fingers through the holes in the air vent only for the hand to disappear as the being they belonged to let out a screech of pain. The scent of burning not-flesh made Harry gag as he slipped further back away from the door and the overhanging light bulb that Uncle Vernon had installed about the same time he'd added the vent to the door. He eyed the door distrustfully as he silently wished the not-people monsters would leave him alone. Tears filled his frightened eyes as the door rattled louder as something crashed into it and he would have fled into the smallest corner of the cupboard if it wasn't currently occupied by his potty chair.

Silent, tearless sobs wracked the small boy's shoulders as he pulled on the cord to turn off the light, curled up as far away from the door as he could get, and rocked back and forth as he desperately prayed for someone to save him from the monsters.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – idiot  
>Yujincho – Book of Friends<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> W_e've now seen the entire prophecy and we've seen a glimpse of what poor Harry is suffering from. The next chapter will have the anticipated first meeting between Takashi and Harry and give a bit more background information. I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. A huge thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far. ~ Jenn_

**08-01-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	5. Standing on the Edge of an Abyss

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 4: Standing on the Edge of an Abyss<span>

_Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport)  
>Ōta, Tokyo, Japan<br>11:05 P.M. Monday, June 29, 1987_

Takashi settled back in the not quite comfortable airline seat as the plane taxied out to the runway in preparation for take off. He felt a small pang of sympathy for Nyanko-sensei locked in his statue form and securely tucked into Takashi's suitcase in the cargo hold of the plane. After he recalled the hassle the blasted cat had given him about flying to England and then about having to ride in the suitcase (he'd flat out refused to be locked into a cat carrier for the trip or be forced to go through quarantine) he smirked as he thought it justice well served for the often selfish and dangerously gluttonous youkai. He then sighed as he was certain the wolf spirit would find a way to get even with him once they landed or more likely demand to be compensated with some expensive treat for his 'suffering'.

Pushing all thoughts of his self-proclaimed bodyguard out of his mind, Takashi turned his attention to the scenery passing by just on the other side of his window. Staring down at the gentle ebb and flow of the tide reflecting the lights of the city as the plane accelerated and lifted up into the air and the ground rapidly receding as they quickly gained altitude, Takashi allowed his thoughts to bounce between the past and the future. Takashi had briefly worried that he'd feel anxious or nervous about flying non-stop from Tokyo to the Heathrow Airport in London but now realized this flight was fairly tame when compared to the numerous times he'd ridden on Madara's back over the ground and through the air. He would have gladly flown to England on Madara's back if not for the fact that it would make it exceedingly difficult to explain his presence in that part of the world and his instincts were telling him that everything he did on this trip had to be by the book.

The next twelve hours were fairly uneventful as Takashi slept through most of the flight; catching up on some much needed sleep as he'd spent the previous week taking his end of term exams. His weekend was then spent tying up any loose ends and packing for his trip to England where he'd be spending the next two months attempting to track down his uncle. He also had plans to contact the English law firm that was listed as the executors of his grandmother's second will; he would have called or sent them a letter to set up an appointment before he left but he'd been unable to find a phone listing or a mailing address for the firm. Takashi hoped that the law firm would be able to provide him with more information on his uncle or help him track down the man, since the length of time he could spend looking for the man this summer was limited. Classes started back up in the first week of September and he couldn't afford to skip a fall semester the same way he could opt out of taking summer courses; not if he wanted to earn his doctorate in less than two years.

Takashi still felt a little groggy and more than a little disoriented because his internal clock was telling him it was about lunch time even though it was only a few minutes after three in the morning in London; he'd gained eight hours even though it felt more like he'd lost twelve. In order to give himself a little time to clear his head, he patiently waited for the rest of his fellow passengers to disembark first so he could avoid the crushing press of sweating bodies. He ended up being one of the last people to exit the plane, not counting the pair of flight attendants that were checking the plane for lingering passengers or forgotten belongings, and the short walk through the jet bridge was relatively peaceful.

He almost regretted waiting so long to get off the plane when he saw the long line of passengers waiting their turn to be processed by customs and he let out a vexed sigh as he dug into his duffle bag for the various forms and documents he'd need to present to the custom's officer when he reached one of the multiple desks. He ended up standing in line for a little over two hours before it was finally his turn and then it took him another hour to navigate his way through the obscenely huge crowds of people moving through the airport just to collect his suitcase. By the time he managed to hail a taxi cab he had a headache the size of Tokyo and wanted nothing more than to check into the hotel and crawl into bed.

It was well after eight in the morning, local time, by the time he had checked into the hotel and made his way up to his room. The first thing he did was order a large breakfast through room service since he'd slept through the in-flight meal on the flight over. While he waited for the food to be delivered to his room, he let Nyanko out of the suitcase before he took a hot shower in order to wake himself up a bit. Only the fact that he would soon have a plate of hot food prevented Nyanko from complaining too loudly about the length of time he'd been forced to sit inside the stuffy suitcase. Takashi had anticipated the youkai's mood and planned accordingly, ordering a plate of kippers for the cat while he would have eggs, bacon, and toast.

After setting the empty tray and dirty dishes outside the door, as the delivery boy had advised, Takashi spent an hour setting up a small shrine on the dresser beside the television. The shrine was designed to act like a barrier or ward to prevent the local youkai from entering the room. Takashi had left a similar shrine in his bedroom back in Takashima in order to protect the Fujiwaras while he was gone. Natori-san had helped him design the protective shrines when he first told the older man that he would be out of the country for a couple of months. The shrine wouldn't affect Madara because he'd used a tiny bit of Madara's blood mixed in with the ink to draw the protective kanji.

Once the shrine was in place, Takashi spent the rest of the morning going over his itinerary and searching through the phone book for the firm that was listed as the executors of his grandmother's will and his uncle. Unfortunately, there was a depressing lack of entries for both his uncle and the Law Offices of Sandervohn, Bongledash, and Crimley and it was more than a little frustrating because it was as if they didn't exist. When additional searches still didn't yield any information, Takashi tossed the phone book aside in disgust and began checking through the various documents he'd brought with him to see if he could find any clues that would help him track down his uncle or the law firm.

When lunch time rolled around and he still hadn't had any luck, Takashi tucked all of the documents back into his briefcase and decided he would grab lunch down in the hotel's restaurant and then take a walk to see if he could find the offices of the law firm which were located on Charing Cross Road, according to the letter that had been in the safety deposit box alongside the wills. He hoped the fact that he couldn't track down a phone number for the firm didn't mean that the firm had gone out of business sometime in the past.

He glanced over at Nyanko and wondered how he was going to sneak the cat out of the hotel without getting caught with him; since this particular hotel did not allow pets. He couldn't just leave the cat in the room either; because not only would Nyanko-san complain, he would likely make a huge mess or do something stupid like order room service. The youkai solved the problem himself by changing into his natural form, which couldn't be seen by most humans, and slipping out of the window after telling Takashi he'd be waiting for him outside.

Forty-five minutes later, Takashi was sitting on a bench outside of the hotel feeding pieces of the sandwiches he'd purchased to what appeared to be nothing more than a stray cat; he got a few weird looks from some of the pedestrians passing by but he paid them no mind. When they finished eating, Nyanko scampered off while Takashi stood up, brushed the bread crumbs from his clothes, tossed out the trash, and headed down the street in the general direction that Nyanko had disappeared. They met up again several blocks away from the hotel, Nyanko taking his usual place on Takashi's shoulder as the young man maneuvered through the crowded streets.

In the end, it took the two of them a little over a week to locate the office of the law firm, hidden as it was at the back end of a dark alley that opened off of Charing Cross Road, and the moment Takashi got a good look at it he had the sudden urge to turn around a walk away. The building was rather run down and grungy and if not for the light shining through the dirt caked window and the open sign hung on the door he would have thought the entire building to have been abandoned years earlier. A shiver ran down his back as Nyanko growled and muttered under his breath and once again Takashi felt the urge to just walk away. Squaring his shoulders, Takashi marched upon to the door and pulled it open and stepped into a surprisingly clean, if rather empty, lobby.

"Can I help you?"

"Possibly," Takashi replied in lightly accented English as he turned to face the woman, whose face appeared to be ageless, sitting at the desk; which was the only piece of furniture in the entire room. "I'm looking for the offices of Sandervohn, Bongledash, and Crimley and the address I was given was for this building. Is this the correct place…?"

"Yes, you have reached the right place. Do you have an appointment to see one of our attorneys? Or did you wish to make an appointment?"

"No, I don't have an appointment; I was hoping I could make an appointment to meet with someone regarding my grandmother's will."

"The earliest opening we have is on October sixth, at two in the afternoon. Shall I write you in?"

"October!? Isn't there any chance I could get an earlier appointment? I'm only going to be here in England for a little over a month before I have to return to Japan."

"You should have made an appointment months ago if you needed to see one of the attorneys while you were visiting," the receptionist chided as she crossed her arms and glared at him. "You can't just waltz in here and demand to be seen without making an appointment first."

"I would have called ahead if you had a publicly listed phone number or written a letter to request one if I had your mailing address," Takashi countered with a frown. "How can you expect people to make appointments if they have no way to contact you?"

"Our regular clients have no trouble making proper appointments."

Takashi opened his mouth to argue with the woman only to close it when a man wearing what looked like a long cape walked in through the door and greeted the receptionist. The man was almost effeminate looking, with long, pale blonde hair that hung down past his shoulders and a pinched fox-like face. His cold blue eyes swept over Takashi's face before dismissing him as insignificant as he flirted with the woman behind the desk.

"I must say you are looking heavenly this afternoon, Melinda dear, I could spend hours just sitting here watching you if I did not have pressing business to attend to. Could you please tell the honorable Squire Sandervohn I am here and need his expertise in dealing with an unfortunate situation that has arisen and see if he isn't willing to clear his schedule for the rest of the day?"

"Right away, Mr. Malfoy," Melinda the receptionist cooed as she climbed to her feet and disappeared behind a door that Takashi hadn't noticed earlier.

Takashi glowered after the woman, wondering just how much of her frosty manner she'd had when dealing him were because he was a foreigner and because he wasn't wearing excessively expensive clothes. His internal musings were interrupted several minutes later by the return of the woman who was followed by two older gentlemen that were arguing quite forcibly.

"You can't just drop everything right now, Edgar, we've been working on this case for three months and I won't stand for you to just dump everything in my lap because you are catering to the likes of Malfoy! Every other week that man comes in here demanding that we bail him out of another fix and I've had it! I don't care if his money is the only thing keeping our firm afloat."

"Be silent, fool," Edgar hissed as he glared at the other man. "My apologies, Mr. Malfoy, my business partner was out of line. Why don't you tell me how I can help you over a glass of wine at The Golden Telescope?"

Takashi stepped to one side as the two men swept out the front door leaving the other man spluttering with indignation while the secretary returned to her seat with a bored expression on her face. He had the feeling that there was more to the situation than meets the eye and for the third time since he first found the office he felt the urge to leave. Shaking his head he turned to level the unrepentant receptionist with a stern gaze as she attempted to ignore his presence.

"Have you been helped, sir?" the man who'd been arguing with his partner inquired as he finally noticed Takashi standing in the office.

"Yes, he was just leaving," Melinda announced at the same time as Takashi said, "No, your receptionist was most uncooperative when I requested an appointment sometime this week in order to go over my grandmother's will."

The man sighed and ran a hand over his forehead as he turned to glare at the receptionist who was in turn glaring at Takashi whose face was completely blank of all expression. "Melinda, you're fired. I'm tired of you running off prospective clients just because they are not rich or pure and fawning over the likes of Malfoy. I'll forward a note to Gringotts to have them deposit two weeks salary into your account but don't bother coming back. And don't bother appealing to Sandervohn to overturn my decision this time either because as of right now Sandervohn is no longer a partner at this firm."

Takashi watched in bemusement as the man ushered the now irate woman out the front door, put up the closed sign, and locked the front door. The woman appeared as if she was yelling obscenities on the other side of the door for a few minutes before she angrily stomped off. That had been one of the strangest scenes he'd ever witnessed and he almost felt as if he was dreaming.

"My apologies, our society is still recovering from the war, though it's been over for nearly six years. I had hoped… well no matter. You mentioned you had a will you wished to contest? Do you have a copy of it with you? Are you listed in the will at all? Or were you written out?"

"Ano… ah… I'm not contesting the will, Mister…?" Takashi countered uncertainly as he clutched the handle of his briefcase while taking a cautious step away from the excitable man.

"Oh, where are my manners, the name is Sander Bongledash, esquire. If you're not contesting the will, then what brings you to our firm?"

"Your firm was listed as the executors of my grandmother's will. I was hoping you could help me locate my father's younger brother as well. He was adopted by what I believe was his father's family but I'm afraid I don't have much else but names."

"Come on back to my office," Bongledash suggested as he headed for the door that Melinda had disappeared into earlier and gestured for Takashi to follow him.

Nyanko growled a low warning to Takashi as they passed through the door but otherwise sat quietly, if a bit stiffly, on Takashi's shoulder. The two of them were led through a series of hallways until they reached a cluttered office filled with scattered piles of books, scrolls, folders, and magazines. Bongledash swept into the room and shoved a pile of paper and scrolls from the chair in front of the desk and told Takashi to take a seat while he waded through the mess on the floor and settled into the chair on the other side of the desk.

"Now, let's take a look at that will you mentioned."

* * *

><p><em>Room # 87, the Radisson Hampshire Hotel,<br>Near Leicester Square, London, England  
>06:35 P.M. Thursday, July 09, 1987<em>

Takashi opened the window just enough for Nyanko to climb back into the hotel room before he closed the window and walked over to sit down on the bed. He felt mentally wrung out and utterly confused as he'd just spent close to five hours listening to the strangest story he'd ever heard; that wasn't even including what he'd learned through his grandmother's second will.

"_What have I gotten myself into this time?_" Takashi muttered to himself in Japanese.

"_I told you to let it be, Natsume, but no… you refused to listen to me_," Nyanko imperiously reminded the young man as he jumped up onto the bed and curled up on the pillow.

"_It was a rhetorical question, sensei; I don't want or need to hear your complaints_."

"_Baka… I wasn't complaining I was pointing out facts and you can't say I didn't warn you that digging into Reiko's past would bring nothing but trouble._"

"_Sensei? What would have happened if we had never found the prophecy or had chosen to ignore it instead?_" Takashi asked quietly instead of arguing with the wolf spirit. "_If we walked away, right now, what would become of my cousin?_"

"_You don't have to remind me_," Nyanko groused as he dove off the pillow he'd been sitting on and disappeared beneath the bed. "_Just because I'm not happy doesn't mean I don't understand just how important the brat is. Now, go order room service or something; I'm starving._"

Rolling his eyes, Takashi leaned over and grabbed the telephone so he could order supper for the both of them before he got up and grabbed the phone book out of the nightstand drawer so he could search through the white pages for the Evans family. One of the things he'd learned was that his uncle had married a woman by the name of Lily Evans shortly after finishing school. Both of them had been murdered nearly six years earlier, leaving their son, Takashi's cousin, an orphan. It turned out that his grandmother had been murdered as well, the gas explosion listed on her second death certificate nothing more than a cover up excuse that the English Ministry of Magic had provided to the non-magical community. (Though that didn't explain the gas explosion that was listed as the cause of death on the death certificate that said she died at age eighteen.)

_Magic_, Takashi mused dazedly as he flipped through the pages to the E's, _so similar to the powers of the youkai and at the same time nothing like them. Witches, wizards, and wands… myths and legends brought to life. A hidden society of humans with powers above and beyond anything I have ever seen. And yet despite all that power they can't see the youkai that haunt the world around them; not counting the souls of the dead magicals that chose not to pass on. What is it that sets those of us who can see the youkai apart from those that can't? It seems like magic at times but now that I have seen real magic I can see that the power I have is different, less tangible, and seemingly weaker; though I know it is strong enough to impact the lives of the youkai. _

The arrival of room service pulled Takashi out of his introspection and he climbed to his feet to retrieve their meal. He absently thanked the young man who delivered the food and passed him a generous tip before returning to the table where Nyanko-san was already waiting for the food. Trying not to think about everything he had just learned, Takashi mechanically dished out the food before sitting back down in front of the phone book. He took a couple of bites of the baked salmon he'd ordered before he flipped through a couple more pages and located the section he needed. Once he found the first listing under A. Evans, he ran his finger down the page and groaned when he saw just how many listings there were under the name Evans. He stared at the phone book for a moment before turned his attention to his supper and pulled out the various documents that Bongledash-sama had given to him to see if he could find any other clues.

Some of the documents were itemized lists of the assets that Reiko and her husband owned at the time of their death, assets that they had left to their son who in turn left them to his son. There were several deeds to three houses (spread throughout the British Isles), several undeveloped properties, an apartment complex, and several commercial buildings in some rustic village called Hogsmeade; included with the deeds were several lease agreements for commercial properties. There were also copies of several wills that had been brought out after Reiko's will had been executed. Those had been the wills of Matthew and Rebecca Potter (the couple that had adopted his uncle upon the death of Reiko and her husband), the will of Charlus and Dorea Potter (the Patriarch of the Potter Family and his wife), and the will of James and Lily Potter (his uncle and his uncle's wife). Underneath all of the legal jargon and minor bequeaths everything of value from the deceased members of the Potter family had been left to the son of James and Lily Potter, Harry James Potter.

The last document was a completed adoption form for one Harry James Potter that only lacked one or two signatures; the signature(s) of whoever had been designated as Harry's guardian. That had been the one thing that his grandmother had left to him in her second will; custody of his younger cousin (who was a little younger than he expected). It had listed him specifically and it was more than a little unsettling since his grandmother had died before her second grandchild had been born. He'd not wanted to sign the document at first, being more than a little hesitant of taking on the responsibility of raising his cousin when he had no experience with childrearing; not to mention the fact that he was a fulltime student with a heavy class schedule.

When he'd opened his mouth to decline he'd found himself suddenly remembering a two lines of the prophecy that his grandmother had left for him to find; _Let not the light cower behind fear and doubt least he fall to the shadows_ and _Let not the light turn his back on the dark child least his fate be sealed_. He'd gone on to sign the document without saying a word of protest; not even when the feather quill he'd used to sign his name drew blood from the back of his hand instead of using ink. He was then given both the quill and the forms and told to have Harry's current guardians sign the form using the quill; he'd also been told that once they signed the forms he would need to return so they could schedule a meeting with the goblins to finalize everything.

Staring down at the form in his hands, Takashi felt a weight settle in his stomach as he worried over how he was going to take care of a child when it seemed as if he could barely take care of himself. How would the Fujiwaras feel about him coming home with a child in tow? How was he supposed to juggle his fall class load while trying to take care of a child at the same time? How was he supposed to protect the child from the less than kind youkai that often sought to steal the Yujincho? Sighing, Takashi shoved the adoption forms back into his briefcase and turned to finish his supper only to find that he'd already eaten everything. Wanting to put off the inevitable for just a little longer, Takashi stood up and gathered the empty dishes before carrying them to the door where he quickly set them outside so they could be picked up by the hotel staff. He then headed to the bathroom to take a hot shower in order to give himself a chance to ease the growing tension he felt.

Twenty minutes later, he was sitting on the bed next to the nightstand with the phone book spread across his lap and the phone in one hand as he dialed the number of the first listing. Two hours and thirty phone calls later, Takashi shut the phone book and called it quits for the night after running into nothing but dead ends. After a rough night's sleep, Takashi decided there had to be a better way to search for his aunt's sister. Takashi would end up spending the next two weeks sorting through an endless number of microfiche cards of old newspapers at the London Library. He was specifically looking for birth and wedding announcements for one Lily Evans.

He found three potential couples that had a daughter named Lily and he meticulously traced those families in the hopes that one of them would be the one he was looking for. Each evening when he returned to the hotel, he'd spend close to an hour on the phone following up with each lead he found until he finally hit pay dirt on the twenty-third. After a brief conversation, Takashi had an address and an appointment to meet the woman he had just learned was his Aunt Lily's older sister.

He'd be catching the train to Surrey the following afternoon so he could meet the woman and his cousin face to face. Regardless of his grandmother's last wishes, if the boy was happy where he was at he wasn't going to steal him away from his family. On the other hand, if he was unhappy (as the prophecy hinted he would be) he'd hire the best lawyers money could buy and do everything in his power to gain custody of the child if they refused to sign over custody.

* * *

><p><em>No. 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England<br>03:55 P.M. Friday, July 24, 1987_

Takashi stood on the corner of Privet Drive and stared at the swarming mass of youkai that had gathered up and down the street. There were thousands of the demons, and they were truly terrifying and monstrous demons and not simply misunderstood spirits, that were pushing and shoving as they fought to get closer to one particular house that was literally covered in swarming youkai. If Takashi were to hazard a guess, he'd say the house the youkai were trying to get into was the house where one Harry James Potter lived. Takashi had never seen so many malicious spirits in one place before and it made his skin crawl to think that his cousin would have had to deal with them all alone through the years since he'd lost his parents.

"_They will not let you pass,_" Nyanko murmured from where he sat at Takashi's feet. "_They will attack you the moment they know you are here. They are not like the youkai you are used to dealing with; their souls have been twisted and tainted by the corrupted magic that has spread throughout this cursed land. They will seek your soul because of the purity of your spiritual power in the hopes that by devouring you they might be cleansed of the madness that has claimed their souls. It is likely the same reason they have sought out your cousin._"

"_Wakatteru yo,_" Takashi replied without looking away from the gathered youkai. "_Will you be able to handle them or should I call for Misuzu to help chase them off so we can meet my cousin and speak with his family undisturbed?_"

"_I will deal with them, Natsume,_" Nyanko hissed indignantly as he glared up at Takashi. "_While they have the advantage of numbers I am far more powerful than those twisted creatures._"

"_I_ _wasn't doubting your abilities, sensei; I just don't want you to be overwhelmed by their numbers._"

The wolf-turned-cat didn't bother to reply as he changed back into his natural form in a puff of smoke and released a wave of intense blue light that bowled the nearest youkai head over heels as the spiritual powers of Madara blasted down the street. The huge white wolf then bounded down the street, using his paws, tail, and teeth to chase off the numerous demons. Shaking his head and rolling his eyes at the antics of the wolf-spirit, Takashi headed for Number Four; occasionally punching the determined youkai (that hadn't fled the instant Madara had attacked) in the face as they tried to attack him.

The street was mostly clear by the time Takashi reached the home of Vernon and Petunia Dursley and he glanced around looking for Madara as he navigated the walkway, wondering if the wolf had finished dealing with youkai on the street. A satisfied humming from the bushes beneath the windows of Number Four gave Takashi his answer as Madara, once more in the body of a cat, waddled out of the bush with a smug grin on his face. Smiling down at his friend and bodyguard, Takashi stepped up to the door and knocked firmly.

"Who're you?" a belligerent voice demanded when the door opened two minutes later.

"My name is Takashi Natsume," Takashi replied as he schooled his face to hide his distaste as being greeted so rudely by the overweight boy who'd answered the door.

"Wadda ya want?"

"I am here to see Petunia Dursley."

"Mum! There's some weird speaking weirdo at the door for you!" the boy hollered as he slammed the door in Takashi's face.

"_What a rotten little gaki,_" Nyanko muttered as he glared at the door that had nearly hit him in the face when he'd tried to sneak inside the house to chase off any youkai that had found a way inside.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Nautsmay," Petunia Dursley apologized as she opened the door and invited Takashi into the house. "My son isn't usually quite so rude."

"No harm done, Dursley-san," Takashi automatically replied with a polite smile that was more than a little forced as he tried not to cringe over the mangling of his name. He supposed he didn't really have a right to complain since he had difficulty pronouncing Petunia's last name as well, the 'l' sounding more like an 'r' because he had trouble forming the 'l' sound.

As he stepped into the house he couldn't miss seeing the number of youkai that were hovering up and down the entry way, three of them pounding at what looked like a closet door halfway down the hall. He forcefully pulled his eyes away from the demons as Nyanko, once more back in his natural form, slipped into the house through the open door (it was a tight fit considering his size). The wolf then set about chasing off the youkai as Petunia led him through the hall down to the kitchen; his aunt through marriage never sensing the powerful youkai or hearing the cries of the malevolent monsters the huge spirit chased them from the house.

"Please call me, Petunia," Petunia insisted graciously as she set a pot of freshly made tea on the table beside a plate of piping hot scones. "May I offer you some tea and scones?"

"Thank you, a cup of tea would be great, Petunia-san," Takashi allowed as he seated himself at the table and set his briefcase down on the floor beside his chair. "I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me on such short notice."

"It is no trouble, Mr. Nautsmay," Petunia insisted with a brittle smile.

"You may call me Takashi, Petunia-san, we are family after all," Takashi offered as he accepted the cup of tea she passed to him.

Petunia scowled briefly at the mention of them being family but it was gone so fast that Takashi thought maybe he might have been imagining it. After she poured herself a cup of tea, adding a generous amount of sugar and cream, she pinned him with a heated glare that told him, no, he hadn't been imagining the earlier scowl.

"We are not family. I disowned my sister years ago and would have told you not to bother coming around if it wasn't for the fact that you said you were interested in meeting the boy. I only met your uncle once and it was more than enough for me to know I wanted nothing to do with _him_ and _his_ kind. My _sister_ abandoned us when she left us for _their_ world and _they_ turned her against us. If anything I should be asking you where you have been for the last six years! Do you have any idea what my husband and I have had to put up with because of that boy's… unnaturalness? If you are from _his_ side of the family, why didn't you take him in the first place?"

"I do not know what problems you and your sister had before she was murdered nor am I interested in hearing about them," Takashi coldly stated as he dropped the polite façade he'd worn since he'd entered her house. "It is clear that you are unsuited to raise my cousin and that you are unhappy over the fact that he was placed with your family after his parents' deaths. I will not, however, tolerate you taking your misplaced anger out on me. It was only recently that I discovered my grandmother had married, after she left Japan, and had another son; which is what brought me to England. I warn you now; you'd best not have harmed my cousin because of your misplaced jealousy over the gift your sister was born with."

"It was no gift! My sister was a freak and that wretched child of hers is ten times worse!" Petunia spat as she jumped to her feet. "From the moment he arrived he was always talking of things that don't exist, screaming night after night over nothing for months on end, and hiding himself away in that blasted closet. I don't care what it takes, I want him gone. My husband is willing to pay you to take him away so we don't have to deal with him any longer."

"_Sensei? Is he in the closet now?_" Takashi asked of the wolf in Japanese as the youkai pushed his head into the kitchen to check on Takashi now that he'd finally finished chasing the youkai from the house.

"_Hai._"

Takashi rose to his feet and turned his back on the still fuming Petunia as he exited the kitchen and approached the door to the closet in the hallway. Madara had backed up down the hall and reverted to his cat form in order to avoid scaring the boy as he hunkered down and watched Takashi. Worried about his cousin's state of mind based upon what he'd learned from Petunia's rant, Takashi knocked softly on the door before pulling it open; upon seeing the lived in condition of the cupboard he had to force himself not to growl as his eyes landed on a small boy huddled with his head in his arms in the far corner of the tiny room.

"Hari-kun?" Takashi called softly as he crouched down in the doorframe.

Tormented green eyes met concerned brown eyes as the boy lifted his head from his arms. Takashi felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach as he read the pain and heartache burning in the depths of his cousin's eyes; pain he'd once seen in his own eyes. He knew… he knew exactly what the poor child must have endured over the past six years. Takashi had been lucky, he'd learned early on that there were certain places where the youkai refused to enter and had hunted out the shrines and temples in each new town he moved to so he would know where to run when he'd been cornered. It appeared that Harry hadn't been as lucky given his current refuge.

* * *

><p>Harry had spent most of the day reading through the magazines that Aunt Petunia had tossed into his cupboard the week before when she'd finished with them. Something she had been doing for two years now, along with the occasional school book; so he could at least pretend he was going to school or so his aunt had told him the first time she'd given him a math workbook. It was one of the nicer things his aunt had done for him over the years, even if her reasons for doing so weren't out of the kindness of her heart. He knew his relatives didn't like him, after all.<p>

At lunch time the first deviation from his routine occurred when his aunt dragged him out of his cupboard for his weekly shower… two days earlier than usual. She'd then stripped his bed and told him to put clean sheets on the cot mattress, which had been placed in his cupboard after he stopped sleeping upstairs, while she washed the dirty sheets and cleaned out his travel toilet. She then told him he needed to clean his room out and pass her all of his dirty clothes so she could wash them. When she'd brought him his clothes back a few hours later she'd packed them inside of a brown paper bag and told him to leave them in there unless she told him otherwise.

Not long after that someone had knocked on the front door and Harry had heard Dudley yelling something about a man there to see her. Shortly after Aunt Petunia passed through the hall and opened the door a second time, the screaming had started. They were the fear filled screams of the not-people and the shrill sounds had terrified Harry because he'd never heard the monsters scream that way before; not even when they hurt themselves trying to break into his cupboard. Only one thought had crossed his mind at that point; there was a bigger monster out there and he was going to die the moment it found him.

So when someone knocked on his door about fifteen minutes later he'd scrambled into the furthest corner of the closet and curled up on himself hoping that whatever it was on the other side of the door wouldn't see him if it managed to break into his room. He was caught completely off guard when the door opened and he heard a soft voice calling his name.

"Hari-kun?"

He hadn't been able to resist looking up at the sound of his name, something he rarely ever heard given how little his relatives actually interacted with him, and never in a voice that held such tender concern in it. He soon found himself locking gazes with a stranger who had the warmest brown eyes he'd ever seen and he felt something shift inside him. Some long forgotten part of him that yearned for something more… a part of him that he'd buried years ago, about the same time he'd buried his voice. Fear filled him in that instant and he felt a wave of panic washing through him as the man continued to stare at him as he crouched in the door.

"You don't have to be afraid, Hari-kun," the man softly murmured after a long pause. "I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you. They won't bother you while I am here; a friend of mine chased them away."

Harry couldn't help himself; he cringed the moment the man mentioned the monsters and Harry knew the man was talking about the monsters because he'd heard the evil things being chased off earlier. Confusion soon replaced his fear though as he realized that the man was talking as if he knew the monsters existed; as if he'd seen them with his own eyes. Frowning, Harry tilted his head to one side as he scrutinized the stranger as he tried to figure out whether he could be trusted or if he was even human.

"_Chikushou_," the man muttered as he ducked out of the cupboard for a moment. He was back a few seconds later and Harry shrank away as the man spoke once more. "I just realized that I never introduced myself. My name is Takashi Natsume. I'm your cousin; your father was my uncle. I flew out here from Japan so I could meet him and just learned that he died several years ago. After hearing my uncle had left behind a son yesterday morning, I spent all last night trying to find someone who would know what had happened to you so I could meet you. And here I am."

Harry blinked in surprise since his aunt and uncle had told him years ago that he had no other family. He uncurled a bit and scooched just a little closer so he could see the man better, though he stayed well out of reach in case the man was just trying to trick him.

"I would like it very much if we could be friends, Hari, as you and I are all that is left of our family," Takashi continued with a small smile. "You see, I'm an orphan just like you. My parents died when I was about four years old. I was passed from family to family for a long time because I frightened the adults when I spoke of the strange beings I saw. They couldn't see them and thought I was making up stories because I wanted attention."

Harry froze, his breath caught in his throat as he stared at the man with wide eyes; hardly daring to believe what the man had just told him was true. He narrowed his eyes, once again wondering if the man was even human and what he could possibly want with him. After all, no one wanted a freak. And yet… when he looked into the man's eyes he found nothing but genuine concern and warmth; something he had never seen in the eyes of his aunt and uncle. He was just considering moving up to sit on his bed in order to get a closer look at the man who claimed to be his cousin when the front door opened and Uncle Vernon walked into the house.

The man with the friendly eyes disappeared again, leaving the door to his cupboard wide open, and Harry could hear him introducing himself to his uncle as their voices disappeared into the kitchen. Harry felt a wave of fear wash through him as he expected the monsters to immediately start trying to reach through the open doorway only for the fear to fade into the back of his mind when, after five minutes, there was no sign of a single monster. Recalling what the man had told him about the monsters being chased off, Harry slowly crept forward until he could peer outside of his cupboard and stared out at the empty hallway in surprise.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Chikushou – damn or damn it  
>Gaki – brat<br>Hai – yes  
>Wakatteru yo – I know (informalcasual)

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And there we finally have the first meeting between Harry and Takashi and Petunia is her usual caustic self. We also got just a brief look at how Takashi took his introduction to the Wizarding World. I would have written that part out but I felt introductions like that have been written so many times in FanFiction that anything I could have put up would have been overdone and overused and so therefore left out the actual Magic is Real speech to spare you all. Next chapter will have Takashi's reaction to Vernon, what will become of little Harry, and how Takashi will handle what he learns about Harry's years at the Dursleys… ~ Jenn_

**08-07-12:**_ This chapter was once again edited to remove all references to laptops, e-mails, and the internet in order to keep the technological advances in the story a little more accurate._


	6. Patience is a Virtue

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 5: Patience is a Virtue<span>

_No. 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey, England  
>05:08 P.M. Friday, July 24, 1987<em>

Takashi had barely spent an hour with the Dursleys and already he felt that was far too long. It wasn't that they were overly horrible people; it was more the fact that they were ignorant, more than a little self-centered, and they'd been trying to cope with a child they couldn't have hoped to understand. They reminded him of the numerous families that had passed him around during the years after his parents died and he felt his heart aching for his little cousin; a cousin who looked far too pale and far too small for his age. They were human, and like all humans, they were imperfect and feared or hated that which they didn't understand.

"I'm willing to offer you five thousand pounds if you will take custody of the boy," Vernon offered seriously as he leaned his beefy elbows on the kitchen table and accepted the cup of tea Petunia passed him. "That boy has been nothing but trouble from the moment he was dropped off on our porch. Unnatural, I tell you. Always bellyaching about monsters that don't exist from the moment we set him up in the spare room upstairs, hiding away in the closet day in and day out, never wanting to go outside and play like a normal boy, and the way he just stopped talking. He hasn't said a word in over four years; not so much as a peep. Unnatural."

"I don't need or want your money, Dursley-san," Takashi growled from where he stood beside the chair he'd been sitting in earlier. "I have already seen an attorney regarding custody of young Hari; I had not mentioned that over the phone last night because I had no desire to remove Hari from your care if he was happy here. It is patently obvious to me that that is not the case."

Leaning down, Takashi lifted his briefcase from the floor, dropped it onto the table, and opened it up so he could pull out the adoption forms and the strange quill. He shuffled through the many pieces of parchment until he reached the page that the Dursleys would need to sign to finalize the guardianship transfer and whipped it out of the stack with a flourish that made both Dursleys jump. He then dropped the page down on the table so that it was sitting right in front of Vernon, and dropped the quill down on top of the paper.

"All you have to do is sign on the blank line at the bottom of the page with that feather pen," Takashi instructed in a hard voice. "I will then help Hari pack his belongings and we will be gone. It's also all perfectly legal and by the book; unlike what you were suggesting, Dursley-san."

Vernon didn't even demand to see the rest of the form he was being asked to sign, he couldn't pick that pen up fast enough as he pressed the tip to the paper and quickly scrawled his signature across the bottom before passing both the pen and the paper to his wife. He'd barely let go of both when his signature appeared on the back of his hand for a split second from the magical quill drawing his blood and he bellowed out in anger as he grabbed the back of his hand as if it had been burned (though Takashi knew the man wouldn't have felt more than a slight stinging that lasted less than a second).

"What the hell did you just do to me, Chinaman?"

"I did nothing to you," Takashi imperiously countered as he watched Petunia signing the form with a bit more hesitation than Vernon had shown. "The pen is magical; it draws on your blood instead of using ink in order to seal the contract you just signed granting me full custody of Hari. And I am not a 'Chinaman' nor am I Chinese; I am Japanese and I'll thank you not to insult me by calling me names."

"There's no such thing as magic! Just as there is no such thing as monsters!"

"Really? So that pen did not just magically make you sign your name in blood? Just because you are frightened of what you can not understand and jealous of what you do not have does not mean it doesn't exist. The same thing applies to those monsters you don't believe exist; they are there even if you lack the ability to see and hear them. If you had not been so close-minded you might have been able to spare your nephew a considerable amount of pain by simply being willing to believe him and seeking help to banish the _youkai_ from your home."

Vernon spluttered some more as Takashi reached across the table and plucked the signed form out of Petunia's hand along with the blood quill that Bongledash-sama had loaned to him. He tucked both safely away into his briefcase, picked up his case, and turned to leave the kitchen only to freeze in place as his eyes landed on a skittish Harry standing on the threshold staring at him with wide, frightened eyes. Shoving his anger aside, Takashi gave the child a small smile as he crouched down so he was on the same level so as not to appear quite so intimidating.

"I did not mean to frighten you, Hari-kun," Takashi soothed softly, ignoring the snort Vernon let out from behind him. "I'm afraid I lost my temper a bit with your uncle because he was spouting nonsense. I am leaving now; I've finished my business with your aunt and uncle. Your aunt and uncle wish for me to take you with me; since you and I are family. Do you wish me to take you with me?"

Harry blinked at him a couple of times before he looked passed Takashi to where his aunt and uncle were sitting and standing at the table glaring at the two of them. Tilting his head to one side, he glanced between Takashi and his relatives a couple of times as if trying to figure out what he wanted before he lifted his left shoulder in a half shrug as he finally focused entirely on Takashi. Takashi took that as either a 'yes' or an 'I don't care' and nodded a couple of times as he rose gracefully to his feet and offered Harry his hand.

"In that case, why don't we go pack your things," Takashi declared before he turned to look at the Dursleys over his shoulder. "I trust you have a suitcase he can have or if not, an empty box?"

Vernon grumbled as he rose to his feet and disappeared down the basement stairs and when the heavyset man returned several minutes later, he was lugging a large, dusty suitcase. Takashi thanked him as he took the suitcase from the older man and stepped up to Harry's side, once more offering his hand to the small boy. Harry just stared at the hand for a minute before he looked up at Takashi in confusion as if he had no idea why Takashi was holding his hand out like he was. Sighing, Takashi dropped his hand and half turned back to the other two adults in the room.

"Are all of his things in the cupboard or have you stored the rest of his things in another room because of the limited space? And are you holding any of his parents' things for him? If you could bring those things down it would cut down the time it will take for Hari to pack. Also, any documents you have of Harry's, such as his birth certificate, immunization records, and school records; I will need those."

As if he'd said the magic words, Petunia bolted out of the room with as much dignity as possible and Takashi could soon hear her footsteps echoing across the ceiling. Vernon, on the other hand, had returned to the basement to either gather things they'd put into storage or to get away from Takashi. Shrugging his shoulders, Takashi reached out, placed a hand on Harry's back (wincing when the child flinched at the contact), gently guided him back to the cupboard where he'd found the boy, and set the suitcase on the floor so he could open it up. After making certain it wasn't too filthy inside, he gestured to the closet as he knelt down beside the suitcase and addressed his cousin once more.

"Why don't you hand me the things you want to bring with you and I will put them in the suitcase for you."

Harry shrugged at him a second time before he crawled into his cupboard and slowly began handing his things to Takashi. The first thing he was handed him was a paper bag filled with clothes which Takashi tucked into one corner of the suitcase. A small collection of home improvement, cooking, and gardening magazines followed with several school workbooks mixed in between. After those, Harry handed him several well worn story books, a couple of coloring books, and a small tupperware box full of broken crayons and colored pencils.

Petunia joined them a few minutes later, carrying a laundry basket filled with a few more changes of clothes, an old pair of shoes, a brand new backpack, a stuffed bear, and a few other toys. "The shoes were my son's from a couple of years ago; they are still good if a little worn. The boy never allowed us to take him outside so we were unable to take him to the store to buy him his own shoes. The backpack I bought for the boy a couple of years ago in the hopes I could talk him into attending school; I couldn't and so the backpack has never been used."

"_Arigatou_," Takashi replied, automatically falling back on his Japanese because he was having trouble keeping his temper under control around the Dursleys.

Petunia dropped the basket beside the suitcase and hurried off into the kitchen, leaving Takashi to help Harry finish packing. Taking a deep breath, Takashi tried to calm his emotions as he transferred all of Harry's clothes into the backpack to make a little more room in the suitcase for the other items Petunia had brought down. When he found a folder containing the documents he'd requested; he immediately tucked it into his brief case so he could go over them later, when he had more time.

Forty-five minutes later, Takashi led Harry out of Number Four Privet Drive for the first time in almost six years. Those neighbors that saw the pair leaving gaped in shock at the sight of the small child, especially those that had seen Takashi arrive alone a few hours earlier. They'd always thought Petunia's ramblings of taking care of her nephew were nothing more than fevered imaginings or drunken memories; especially once she'd stopped speaking about him.

Takashi stopped just outside the door when Harry froze up on the porch and began hyperventilating as he stared around in fear. Squatting down, Takashi blocked the child's view of the street and waited for him to calm down a bit before he reached out to run his fingers through Harry's hair, only to pause when the boy flinched away from the touch. Sighing, he let his hand drop down to his knee as he sadly watched the boy's fears begin to return.

"Hari-kun? As long as you are with me they will not hurt you," Takashi softly assured the child as he glanced down the street to where he could see some of the mid-level youkai of this land gathering. "I will not let them hurt you; I promise. Our taxi is waiting for us though and we have to cross the yard. Can you cross on your own or would you like me to carry you?"

Harry stared at Takashi with those haunted green eyes for nearly two full minutes before he dropped his gaze to the ground and shrugged his left shoulder once again. Not quite certain what the shrug was supposed to mean this time, Takashi glanced behind him where the taxi driver was loading Harry's suitcase, backpack, and the two boxes that Vernon had retrieved from the basement into the trunk of the cab. Hoping he guessed correctly, Takashi took a fortifying breath and gently gathered Harry into his arms before standing up and settling the boy on his left hip. The instant he touched Harry the boy had tensed and the moment he'd lifted his cousin up off the ground he'd given a start and cringed.

Takashi held perfectly still for a moment as he allowed Harry time to adjust to being held before he turned away from the Dursley's house and slowly began crossing the yard. With each step, the child in his arms clung tighter and tighter to him and Takashi soon felt the child pressing his face against his shoulder. When he reached the taxi, the driver kindly opened the back door for him so it would be a little easier for him to slid into the car since he had both hands full carrying both his cousin and his briefcase. Before climbing in, Takashi gave a shrill whistle to call Nyanko and the pudgy cat bounded out of the open door and across the yard, startling Petunia who'd been standing in the door watching them with an unreadable expression.

Once Nyanko-san was safely ensconced in the car, Takashi gently tossed his briefcase onto the seat and slid in, carefully protecting Harry with one hand so he didn't accidentally bump the kid's head against the frame of the door. As soon as he was seated, he reached out and pulled the door closed while the driver climbed in behind the wheel and started the car. Takashi then tried to move Harry off his lap and onto the seat beside him and was more then a little surprised when the boy desperately clung to him instead of eagerly putting distance in between them.

Swallowing thickly as he remembered his own early childhood and the lack of affection he'd been shown by his caregivers, Takashi immediately stopped trying to push the boy away and instead wrapped both arms around the boy and hugged him close. When he felt Harry begin trembling in his embrace, Takashi began humming softly under his breath as he reached up and gently brushed his fingers through the hair on the back of Harry's head. The boy flinched again at the unexpected touch but didn't pull away as Takashi continued the gentle caresses; he could feel the boy's ragged breathing, curled as he was up against his chest, and it made Takashi's heart ache to think the boy had never been offered even the smallest measure of comfort.

Twenty minutes into the long drive back to London, Harry's breathing evened out as the motion of the car combined with Takashi's humming and gentle touches sent the child off to sleep. From his seat on the floor beside Takashi's feet, Nyanko stared up at the pair of humans with glittering eyes as his ears twitched back and forth as if tracking something only he could hear. Takashi smiled tightly down at the youkai in cat's clothing, wordlessly conveying his appreciation of the spirit's presence as he continued humming.

It took about two hours for them to reach the hotel due to the Friday evening traffic clogging the streets of London. Harry had slept peacefully through the majority of the trip in Takashi's arms; never once stirring, not even after Takashi had stopped humming. When they pulled up out in front of the hotel, Takashi was torn between waking his cousin so it would be easier to get out of the cab and pay the driver and allowing the boy to continue sleeping. In the end, he decided against waking the child since he obviously needed the rest given the dark circles Takashi had noticed beneath the boy's eyes earlier.

While the driver passed Harry's belongings to a bellhop who stacked the suitcase, backpack, and boxes on a small cart, Takashi pulled several bills from his pocket. He then passed the waiting bellhop his briefcase to place on top of the luggage so he wouldn't have to juggle both the child and the case before he passed the driver his fare plus a generous tip. Nyanko used the distraction of Takashi getting out of the cab to disappear into the bushes around the outside of the hotel so he could sneak around to climb through the window once Takashi opened it. After the taxi departed, Takashi scanned the immediate area for the presence of any of the local youkai that might try to attack him and his cousin as he followed the bellhop into the hotel.

The trip up to Takashi's room was fairly uneventful as they rode the elevator up to the eighth floor. Takashi passed the bellhop his passkey for the door since it was easier to ask the man to open the door than trying to do so himself with just one hand. Once inside the room, Takashi then accepted the return of his key as the young hotel employee stacked Harry's things and his briefcase beside the table before retreating once Takashi had tipped him. Takashi then pulled back the covers on the large queen sized bed that was tucked in the corner of the room and tucked his charge beneath the covers after removing the boy's shoes.

Takashi stood there watching his cousin sleeping for several minutes, waiting to see if the child would wake up after being settled into the bed. When Harry continued to sleep peacefully, Takashi headed over to the window and opened it just enough for Nyanko to fit through before he took a seat at the table. He then reached out and lifted his briefcase off the top of Harry's suitcase and lifted out the adoption forms and the folder of documents Petunia Dursley had given to him. He spent a few minutes putting the adoption paperwork back into order and double checking the Dursleys' signatures before he tucked them safely back into the briefcase; he'd need to take those to the law firm first thing next week in order to finalize everything.

He then turned his attention to the folder and felt a knot form in his stomach as he glanced over to the bed where Harry was safely curled up beneath the covers. Takashi just knew that he wasn't going to like what he found inside that folder; it was far too thin to contain even half the documents it should have held. Bracing himself, Takashi opened the folder and found Harry's birth certificate (making note that his cousin would be turning seven in just a few days), a letter addressed to Petunia Dursley from a man named Albus Dumbledore, and a hastily scrawled note from Petunia that Takashi assumed she meant for him. There was a distinct lack of medical records, immunization records, and school records and Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes in an effort to stay calm as he silently counted backwards from one hundred in Japanese.

Once he no longer felt like cussing, or sending one of the youkai to curse his aunt through marriage, Takashi picked up the letter Petunia had written to him. He had to read it through several times as he struggled to understand how two adults could fail one child so completely. Eventually, he dropped the short letter on the table and turned his eyes once more to the small boy buried beneath the blankets on the bed; his heart aching fiercely for his cousin as the words of Petunia's letter floated through his mind over and over again.

_You will no doubt think badly of us for being unable to cope with the boy's  
>behavior and blame us for his bad habits but we did the best we could under the<br>circumstances. We did not move him into the cupboard; he started hiding in that  
>stupid closet less than a week after he was dropped on our doorstep. Getting him<br>to leave that cupboard for even a few minutes was harder than you could possibly  
>imagine. And nothing we did could get him to step outside of the house; which<br>meant I was never able to take him to the doctor and he was never enrolled in  
>school. I did what I could to coax him out but the only time he cooperated was for<br>his weekly baths; and even that was a hassle. _

_He barely eats what is placed in front of him, he stopped speaking around age  
>three, he is terrified of everything, he has trouble sleeping, and he does not like to<br>be touched. I made certain he got his daily vitamins, encouraged him to teach  
>himself how to read, provided the workbooks for his education, and did what I<br>could to make certain he didn't live in filth. The boy has never been ill (not even a  
>simple cold), he's never been seriously injured, and as far as I know he has no<br>allergies. _

_I won't apologize because we did the best we could. I am grateful that you have  
>come to take him off our hands and wish you all the luck in putting up with his<br>unnaturalness. Please do not, under any circumstances, ever contact us again.  
>Do not bother sending us updates on the boy's life; we don't care to know. <em>

_Petunia Dursley_

Takashi was jarred back into reality by Nyanko-san jumping up onto his lap and he automatically reached out and scratched the youkai behind the ear in an effort to comfort himself. He felt empty and cast adrift as old memories haunted him and at the same time filled full of directionless anger over that woman's callousness. It took a few minutes for him to center himself and when he did he tucked the letter back into the folder and took out the one addressed to Petunia, curious as to why she'd given it to him instead of keeping it since it was obviously meant for her. If he had hoped the contents of that letter would lift his dark mood he would be sorely disappointed ten minutes later when he felt even worse after reading it.

_Mrs. Petunia Dursley_

_It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you of your sister and her husband's  
>untimely death yesterday evening at the hands of Lord Voldemort. Miraculously,<br>their son survived the attack that killed his parents and I have left him with you as  
>you are the only family he has left. It is my belief that your sister sacrificed herself<br>in order to protect her son and in doing so created a blood linked ward around the  
>child. Since you share his blood, that protection will extend to you and your family<br>so long as the boy can call your house home. _

_It is imperative that you allow the boy to stay in your home. Your nephew, with the  
>help of whatever protection your sister's sacrifice placed on him, defeated Lord<br>Voldemort when the Dark Lord attacked him and because of that the Dark Lord's  
>followers will seek to harm the child in order to get revenge. We have captured but<br>a handful of the Death Eaters and I suspect a number of them will go free as they  
>have enough money to bribe their way out of prison. So long as your nephew lives<br>with you, he will be safe from those that wish him harm._

_I will send someone to collect your nephew sometime after his eleventh birthday so  
>that he can be introduced to our society and attend Hogwarts. Until that time, you<br>may tell the boy as much or as little of the magical world as you wish. Anything you  
>feel less than comfortable discussing with the child can be dealt with once he returns<br>to us. _

_Sincerely,  
>Albus Dumbledore<em>

"It seems that Bongledash-sama left out a few pertinent facts," Takashi deadpanned as he absorbed the knowledge that there were dark witches and wizards out there that would be hunting for Harry's blood alongside the dark youkai that infested the British Isles.

Suddenly exhausted from the long day and the constant strain on his emotions and self control, Takashi shoved the letter back into the folder and locked the folder up in his briefcase. He then changed into his pajamas and crawled into bed beside his cousin, pulling the child close in an effort to offer the sleeping child a measure of comfort and protection against any nightmares that might haunt his dreams. He soon dropped off to sleep while Nyanko-san reverted to his wolf form and kept a silent watch over the two humans in the event that some of the more powerful demons of the land decided to brave the protections cast over the room through to the miniature shrine that still sat beside the television.

* * *

><p><em>Room # 87, The Radisson Hampshire Hotel,<br>Near Leicester Square, London, England  
>05:55 A.M. Saturday, July 25, 1987<em>

Takashi woke up covered in sweat with his heart pounding in fear as the nightmare he'd been experiencing slowly receded back into the depths of his mind. Used to seeing the fears and memories of the various youkai he'd come into contact through the years played out in his dreams, Takashi immediately recognized that the dream had not actually been his nightmare. He at first thought that it might belong to a youkai but immediately discarded that idea as absurd since the only youkai present was Madara and the large wolf most certainly didn't dream of poisonous green lights, sinister laughter, and searching hands that endlessly grabbed at him. No, Takashi suspected that the nightmare that had invaded his sleep had originated from the small form that was currently clinging to his nightshirt with tightly fisted hands.

_How did he project his nightmares into my dreams?_ Takashi wondered as he slowly relaxed and ran his hand over his cousin's back in an effort to sooth him back into a more peaceful sleep. _I have never shared the dreams of another human before; unless their lives had been touched by a youkai and those are usually the youkai's memories. With the youkai I know it has something to do with their spiritual powers touching me while I sleep; a small portion of their souls briefly merging with mine. Does Hari have the same ability? Is that why he projected his dreams to me? Was his magic in some way responsible? Are all of his nightmares so dark and frightening?_

The restless shifting of the small boy in his arms drew Takashi out of his contemplation and he hummed a soft lullaby he'd once heard Touko-san singing around the house. Bring his hand up to brush Harry's damp hair away from his face and froze when he saw the angry red scar marring the boy's left temple. It was by no means a normal scar and if he had to guess, he would say it was some type of curse mark and he frowned in concern over the fact that it looked as if he'd gotten it fairly recently as it was all red and puffy. The most disturbing thing about the scar though was the fact that it looked like someone had carved three distinct symbols onto the side of Harry's face with a knife.

The first one looked like the letter Y with the bottom line extending up through the v that formed the top, just below and to the right of that symbol (so close they were nearly touching along the right fork of the y shape) was a diamond with an upside down v extending out from the bottom point of the diamond, and the final symbol looked like a stylized s or maybe a lightning bolt that cut through the very bottom of the stem of the first symbol and the left side of the upside down v on the second symbol tying all three symbols together. Overall it was the creepiest looking scar that Takashi had ever seen though oddly enough he couldn't sense any malice coming from angry mark like he'd felt from various curse marks in the past.

As he watched the scar, the skin around it lost the angry red color as the swelling went down until, after a few minutes, the scar looked like it had been there for years; just a simple series of fine silver lines marring otherwise perfect skin. It unnerved Takashi far more than he expected as he'd never seen a scar that could heal itself in a matter of minutes like that. That also made him wonder if the scar was as old as it looked or if Harry's magic had some how healed the cut while Harry slept. Takashi made a mental note to keep an eye on the scar as he finally looked away from the strange mark only to find himself getting lost in a pair of haunted green eyes that were filled with confusion and trepidation.

"_Ohayou, itoko_," Takashi murmured softly; unconsciously speaking in Japanese as he momentarily forgot that his cousin only understood English. The furrowing of the boy's brow made Takashi realize what he'd done and he blushed lightly at the unintentional blunder even as he hastily translated his greeting. "Ohayou means good morning and itoko means cousin in Japanese. I was simply wishing you a good morning and momentarily forgot that you do not speak or understand Japanese."

Harry blinked a couple of times then nodded hesitantly as he pulled away from Takashi and sat up. He glanced around the room and seemed to shrink in on himself when he didn't recognize his surroundings. After a few minutes he seemed to relax imperceptibly and Takashi thought his cousin had been afraid he'd find the room filled with youkai for a few moments. When the boy began squirming uncomfortably and desperately searched the room for something it took Takashi a few minutes to realize that the boy most likely needed to use the bathroom after sleeping for over eight hours.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom, Hari-kun?" A single nod from the child confirmed Takashi's guess. "You will find the bathroom through the white door to the right of the brown door; which leads out into the hallway."

Harry nodded again as he slipped down off the bed and timidly crossed the hotel room so he could peer around the door into the bathroom. After a few minutes he tentatively entered the small bathroom and a few minutes later Takashi could hear the sound of the boy using the toilet. While his cousin was otherwise occupied, Takashi picked up the phone and called the Fujiwaras in order to warn them that he wouldn't be returning alone and that he might have to postpone his return in order to obtain a passport and visa for Harry. A glance at the clock and a short mental calculation told Takashi it was after lunch time back home.

"_Hello, Touko-san,_" Takashi greeted warmly when she answered the phone. "_I'm still doing fine, the past two days were a bit hectic or I would have called as usual. Is everything alright there? I'm glad. Yes, I managed to get in contact with the lawyer. No, my uncle and his wife passed away six years ago. Arigatou, Touko-san. Actually, that is why I called; I might need to postpone my return. No, I'm not in any trouble. There is one slight complication though; I won't be returning alone. No. No. Touko-san! No, I'll be bringing my cousin home with me; I've been granted custody of him. No, he'll be turning seven in a few days. He… do you remember how I was when I first came to live with you and Shigeru-san? Hai, he's far more timid than I was. It is easy to see he's had a rough time of it and his aunt never wanted him in the first place. His mother's sister._"

Takashi looked up as Harry timidly crept out of the bathroom and watched his eyes dart all around the room, searching out every last shadow while he listened to Touko-san rant about irresponsible adults. At the same time he smiled fondly over Touko-san's over protectiveness even as he rolled his eyes a bit.

"_Touko-san? I need to see about getting Hari-kun something to eat, he missed supper last night. No, he slept through the drive back to the hotel and then he didn't wake once during the night. I think he was exhausted; he doesn't look so tired today. I don't know when yet. I need to get Hari-kun in to see a doctor, get him his immunizations, arrange for him to get his passport, and apply for a visa through the consulate. I'll call you back once I know when we'll be able to fly back. No, I'll contact the university next week after I have a better idea of how long it is going to take to settle everything here. I will call you again soon. Take care, Touko-san. Sayonara._"

Takashi set the phone back on the cradle and turned to find Harry standing beside the bed staring down at Nyanko-san with wide eyes. The youkai in a cat's body was staring just as intently back at Harry; as if he was either trying to out stare the boy or if he was trying to stare the almost seven year old into submission. As he watched, Nyanko grew tired of the game and narrowed his eyes before sticking his nose up in the air and jumping up onto the bed where he promptly curled up on Takashi's pillow and went to sleep.

"Don't mind Nyanko-sensei," Takashi advised Harry as the boy stared after the cat in confusion. "He is just cranky because he spent all night watching over us to keep us safe. He takes his job as my bodyguard seriously." Takashi then glanced over at said cat and muttered in Japanese, "_When he feels like it, that is._" Ignoring the cat once more, Takashi turned back to Harry and addressed the boy once more, "So, Hari-kun, I imagine you must be hungry; we both missed supper last night and I know I am hungry. I thought we would eat breakfast here today so we can get to know each other a little better. If you could tell me what you would like to eat I will have room service bring it up for you."

Harry shrugged his left shoulder and shook his head as he turned to stare at the shrine sitting beside the television. He seemed to jump suddenly as if he saw something that Takashi couldn't as he tilted his head to one side and moved a few steps closer to the shrine. Curious as to what he would do, Takashi resisted the urge he felt to warn his cousin not to disturb the shrine in case he accidentally destroyed the protection it offered them. He was a little surprised when the small child simply sat down on the floor halfway to the shrine and stared intently up at it; completely fascinated by whatever it was he saw.

While Harry was occupied, Takashi dialed room service and ordered two continental breakfasts for him and his cousin and a side order of scrambled eggs and sausage for Nyanko. He figured that whatever Harry didn't eat Nyanko could have so the large breakfast didn't go to waste. Knowing it would be at least a half an hour before their food arrived, Takashi went to take a quick shower and get dressed, confident that Harry wouldn't feel inclined to get into any trouble, occupied as he was by the small shrine.

A short while later, he had to coax Harry to join him at the table as he set out the two trays of food while setting the plate of eggs on the floor for the youkai. Harry's eyes seemed to grow wider as Takashi placed the tray with his food on it in front of him; the small boy taking in the plastic bowl of cereal, two croissants, a bowl of fresh fruits, a single hard boiled egg, and a thick slice of ham (there was also butter and selection of jams for the croissants). To drink there was a carton of milk (intended for the cereal), a carton of orange juice, and a mug of hot chocolate with a dollop of whipped cream floating on top.

"You may eat as much or as little as you wish," Takashi informed his cousin. "Whatever you don't want to eat, you may give to Nyanko-sensei when you are finished; except the cereal if you don't eat that. If you don't want the cereal right now you may save it to have as a snack later."

Harry glanced from Takashi to the food a couple of times before he reached out and picked up one of the red grapes from the bowl of fruit. Instead of eating the grape though, Harry climbed down and carried the piece of fruit over to the shrine and carefully placed the offering beside the shrine before returning to his chair. Takashi was caught completely off guard by the gesture because he wouldn't have thought that Harry would have known what the shrine represented.

"Hari-kun, may I ask why you left an offering at the shrine?" Takashi asked curiously as he watched the boy climb up onto the chair.

The child's intense green eyes pinned Takashi with an unreadable expression before he climbed back down from the chair and walked over to his suitcase of books and toys. He struggled for a moment with the zipper, but eventually managed to open the suitcase and dug through the various books, workbooks, and magazines until he pulled out a specific issue. Harry then returned to the table and reluctantly set it on the table beside Takashi before once again climbing up onto his chair.

Takashi frowned down at the magazine, trying to figure out what Harry was trying to tell him as he tried not to be frustrated by the boy's refusal to speak (he'd been warned about Harry's silence after all). The magazine in question was one of the home improvement issues and after perusing the various blurbs on the front cover for a few minutes, Takashi murmured in understanding as he opened the magazine to the suggested page and browsed through the article titled: Interior and Exterior Design; Tasteful and Exotic Oriental Themes. Halfway down the page he found a picture of an ancient, outdoor shrine that looked remarkably similar to the one he'd brought with him to ward the room (only far larger); below the picture was a brief history of the shrine.

"Ah, I see. Thank you for sharing that article with me, Hari-kun," Takashi warmly supplied as he set the magazine beside Harry's tray so it could be put away later. "I had wondered why you were so interested in the shrine earlier. That shrine is a bit different than others; it was built to ward the hotel room against the _youkai_, what you would call spirits or demons, and it was blessed by a friend of mine to strengthen the protections. So long as the shrine remains undisturbed, no harmful youkai can enter this room. Do not worry; you didn't disturb it when you left your offering."

Takashi spent the rest of the morning trying to get to know Harry a little better while at the same time letting the nearly seven year old grow comfortable in his presence. After a few hours, it was easy to see that Harry was extremely intelligent once you moved passed the fact that he never spoke a word. Those questions that couldn't be answered with a simple head shake or a nod were frequently answered by the boy offering up one of his numerous magazines or books. There were even a few he answered by writing down his replies on a napkin but it was obvious to see that Harry felt self conscious about his sloppy penmanship since he had rarely practiced his writing skills over the years; preferring to read through his books and magazines instead.

The two of them had lunch down in the hotel's restaurant in the hopes of getting Harry used to being around small crowds and to show him that the youkai would not immediately attack him the moment they stepped outside of their hotel room. There had been one close call when a mid-level youkai had appeared in front of them the moment they stepped out of the elevator but Takashi had punched the dog-faced demon between the eyes and passed off his actions as part of a story he was telling Harry when more than one person gave him strange looks.

Harry had stared at Takashi with awe for nearly an hour after that; as if he hadn't thought it possible to fight off the monsters quite that easily. It was also solid proof that Takashi could also see the demons. Another side effect of defending Harry from that particular demon was that the small boy stuck to his side like glue, even though he still cringed any time Takashi touched him or picked him up. Takashi hoped he would eventually outgrow that habit over time as he slowly got used to physical demonstrations of affection.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in the lobby with Harry timidly reading through a few of the magazines that the hotel set out for their patrons while Takashi used the payphone in the lobby to get directions and phone numbers for a local health clinic, a local dentist's office, the Japanese Consulate in London, and a book store because Takashi wanted to get Harry a couple of workbooks to practice his handwriting and a beginners guide to learning Japanese. The two of them would have a busy week as Takashi needed to get Harry a complete physical, see to it he received the immunizations he missed, have his teeth and eyes checked, and purchase the boy a few more changes of clothes, shoes, and a light jacket. There was also the adoption to finalize, starting the paperwork for Harry's visa, securing a passport for the boy, and making arrangements for all of Harry's monthly, quarterly, and yearly statements to be sent to Japan.

They returned to their room at four so Harry could have a bath and a short nap before supper since the day had been a bit stressful for the boy; what with the constant presence of strangers, the occasional determined youkai trying to sneak up on them, and the sensory overload as the child tried to see and hear everything around him at once when they'd first left the room. Takashi had actually been impressed that Harry had weathered the afternoon as well he had, since he'd originally only intended on spending an hour down in the lobby after lunch. He'd expected his cousin to either throw a temper tantrum like most normal children or (since he already knew his cousin didn't behave like typical children) garner his attention and make his wishes to return to the room known.

While Harry was napping, Takashi pondered the contradictions in Harry's behavior. He knew part of the reason the boy was no longer quite so timid and withdrawn was because there were far fewer youkai crowding around since Takashi and Madara had chased a good number of them off during the first three weeks after they first arrived. It helped that the shrine also drove the weaker youkai away and prevented them from coming within five hundred feet of the shrine once it was set up; which meant that there were far fewer youkai able to gather close to their room. Was part of the changes in Harry's behavior also the fact that Takashi was the first person he could remember showing him even the smallest measure of kindness? Was it because he too could see the youkai and knew that the monsters the boy constantly saw were real?

Takashi felt a pang of sadness at the thought that a perfect stranger could impact the life of one child so much when his family hadn't even made any real efforts to help the child. He knew it was difficult for those who could not see youkai to understand what it is like for those that do; he'd seen it first hand and experienced the dark looks that were directed at him by those that didn't understand when he growing up. What he had a hard time comprehending though was the fact that many people never bothered looking beyond the obvious; eager to pass the 'problem' onto another because they chose not to understand and help.

At six-thirty, Takashi called one of the popular pizzerias and ordered three large pizzas; one all cheese, one supreme (half with anchovies), and one meat combo (again half with anchovies). He didn't know what kind of toppings Harry might like and figured he couldn't go wrong with his three choices since Nyanko would enjoy the anchovies and Harry would have a choice. For drinks, Takashi slipped out of the room and grabbed a couple of sodas and a couple bottles of water from the vending machine near the elevator; leaving Nyanko to watch over Harry since he wouldn't be gone very long. When he got back, he called down to room service and ordered two hot chocolates and one of their ice cream and brownie sundaes, asking them to deliver everything in about an hour and a half so it would arrive about the time they finished eating.

When it was about time for their pizzas to arrive, Takashi gently shook Harry awake so that he would have a few minutes in which to wake up before sitting down to eat. The pizza was a big hit with Harry, which Takashi learned Harry had never tried before, and he ended up eating one extra small slice of each type though he completely avoided the anchovies. Dessert was an even bigger deal since Harry hadn't been allowed to have many sweets because he never ate very much at meal times while he'd lived with the Dursleys (due to the constant fear he'd lived with). In fact, Harry had eaten more over the course of the day than he'd eaten in a single week previously even though it was still much less than a normal child would eat over the course of a day.

Takashi knew it would be a while before Harry was eating reasonably sized meals; he'd studied the effects of long term starvation and various eating disorders in a couple of his classes. He had purposefully kept both breakfast and lunch on the healthier end of the menu with that knowledge at the forefront of his mind and he had been pleased to see that Harry had handled both meals without any of the normal problems that plagued those who suffered from eating disorders and malnutrition. He suspected it had something to do with Petunia's cryptic statement about making certain Harry received his daily vitamins. In a way, he wanted to see how Harry handled the less than healthy meal because it would give him an idea just what Harry's body could handle with it came to grease, spices, and sugars. An hour later, Takashi was pretty certain that Harry wasn't going to have any food related issues; though a solid confirmation wouldn't come until after Harry's physical.

The only reticence Harry showed that night came when it was time for him to climb into bed, not because he wanted to stay up longer but because he was leery of sleeping in the large bed yet again; or that's what Takashi surmised from the longing glances the boy had thrown towards the small closet across from the bathroom. In the hopes of discouraging his cousin from falling back into unhealthy and unwanted habits, Takashi enticed Harry into the bed by offering to tell him a Japanese fairy tale. The look of innocent curiosity replacing the haunted look that usually filled Harry's green eyes was a reward in and of itself; the willingness to climb up into the bed and burrow under the covers was just icing on the cake.

Takashi settled on the bed beside him and smiled warmly down at his cousin as he tried to think of which story would be best. As he considered each fairy tale, he thought about how much Harry's legacy from both his parents and his grandmother could be considered a fairy tale in a way and the thought of the magic running through Harry's blood brought to mind one of Takashi's favorite stories. Nodding to himself, he thought it was perfect; a story of magic, luck, and kindness and most of all it was a relatively happy tale.

"The story I would like to tell you is called The Magic Teakettle*," Takashi began. "It is a story about a priest who was very fond of drinking tea, a teakettle that wasn't, and a kind peddler."

Takashi felt hope as he watched Harry hanging on every word of the story and in that moment Takashi knew that everything he'd been through since the night he'd learned of his grandmother's fate was worth it. The pain, the frustration, the worry, and the uncertainty all paled in comparison to the new life shining out from his cousin's emerald green eyes. He knew he would do anything to see those green eyes sparkle with life every second of every day for the rest of his life.

Sunday would be spent much the same way; minus the appearance of any youkai (much to Harry's relief).

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Konnichiwa – good afternoon<br>Sayonara – good bye

*The Magic Teakettle is an actual Japanese fairy tale, if you'd like a link to that story and other fairy tales please PM me and I will send it to you.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _First of all, let me say that Vernon's crude name calling at the beginning of the chapter is in no way reflective of my personal views as I was simply trying to portray Vernon's small mindedness. If I offended anyone through his words I will apologize now because my intent was not to offend._

_Next point: Harry's scar. Yes, I realize it is both in a different place and altered from original canon; that was intentional on my part and the hows and whys of it being the way it is will be explained many, many chapters down the road. I would say more but then I'd be giving away a huge plot point and I really don't want to do that. All I will say is that there is a method to my madness even if it doesn't appear that way right now._

_That said; I hope you enjoyed the chapter. The next chapter will have a bit of information, a well meaning if meddlesome old man, and a bit of action. Once again, I've appreciated each of the reviews and all of the favorites/alerts. ~ Jenn_

**08-07-12:**_ This chapter was once again edited to remove all references to laptops, e-mails, and the internet in order to keep the technological advances in the story a little more accurate._


	7. Magic Works in Mysterious Ways

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 6: Magic Works in Mysterious Ways<span>

_Law Offices of Bongledash & Crimley,  
># 75 &amp; 23's Charing Cross Road, London, England  
>09:38 A.M. Monday, July 27, 1987<em>

Takashi stepped through the familiar dirt caked door with an inaudible sigh of relief and kicked the door shut behind him as he fought to catch his breath. Clinging to his back was a trembling Harry, the boy terrified out of his mind after being kidnapped by a high-level youkai just a few minutes earlier. He'd sent Madara out an hour before they left he hotel, in order to clear the street of the low and mid-level youkai that had been steadily drawn to the hotel by the combined presence of both Harry and Takashi. With Madara rampaging around town, chasing down the numerous youkai, Takashi had thought he'd be able to walk down Charing Cross Road on his way to the law firm without any problems.

Unfortunately, the damn youkai were getting smarter or rather the smarter youkai were finally showing up as they had been ambushed just as they reached the alley where Bongledash's office was located. Harry had been plucked from his side almost before he realized what was happening and it had taken him a good fifteen minutes to chase down the youkai and get Harry back. The scariest thing was that Harry hadn't made a single sound during the entire ordeal; he didn't cry out in fear, he didn't scream in pain, and he didn't beg or demand to be let go. He had struggled frantically within the youkai's grip in complete and utter silence.

When he did finally catch up with the damn youkai, he'd stunned it with a blow to the head and after pulling Harry free proceeded to seal the demon in an empty soda bottle he'd picked up from the gutter. It was the sloppiest sealing he'd ever performed but he'd been desperate to protect Harry from the vile creature; which meant not giving it a chance to attack them again. Once it was safely, if crudely, sealed, Takashi locked the demon container in his briefcase and spent the next ten minutes calming and reassuring Harry, who'd curled up into a ball and hidden himself behind a dumpster the moment he'd been freed. Takashi had coaxed the boy up onto his back after that and carried him as he retraced his footsteps to the alley. They were joined some five minutes later by a limping Madara, the wolf spirit once more in his earthly vessel, who'd been ambushed at the same time the two of them had been attacked.

All three of them had been injured during the ordeal; Takashi had been raked with sharp claws across the chest, Madara had several cuts and bruises in addition to a couple of bruised ribs, and Harry was pretty much a walking bruise from the neck down as the youkai had squeezed him rather viciously in its hands as it tried to escape with the child. Takashi felt absolutely horrible about the whole incident; he felt he'd failed his cousin by letting his guard down, thinking that they were just dealing with the weaker youkai which Madara had been keeping under control.

"Welcome to the law offices of Bongledash and Crimley. How can I… my word! What in blazes happened to you? Are you alright?"

Takashi looked up to find a concerned Sander Bongledash bearing down on him and gave him a wane smile, "We ran into a little trouble on the way here. We're a little shaken and a bit scratched and bruised but I think we'll be alright."

"Well… if you're certain," Bongledash muttered as he squinted at Takashi and pursed his lips as he noted the blood seeping through Takashi's torn shirt and took in the battered cat sitting at Takashi's feet as he approached the pair. "What brings you to our humble office on this fine morning?"

"I wanted to bring you the adoption papers, so we could finalize things, and to ask if you'd be willing to help me prepare Hari's visa application so we can return to Japan as soon as possible; I have many commitments waiting for me at home."

"Already?"

Takashi smiled and half turned so that the friendly, if slightly strange and eccentric, lawyer could finally see the small boy clinging tightly to Takashi's back. The man stumbled to a stop and backtracked several steps as he stared at Harry with wide eyes, his mouth hanging open in shock or possibly awe. Takashi turned back so Harry could no longer be seen as he felt the boy shifting nervously due to the way the man was staring at him.

"By Merlin, you really have found him," Bongledash breathed as he shook himself out of his stupor now that he could no longer see Harry. "As I live and breathe! The-Boy-Who-Lived, here in the flesh! So many people have been searching for him for nearly six years and here you've found him in less than a month. Little Harry looks just like his father and grandfather; the spitting image right down to the messy Potter hair. And his eyes! Oh, I haven't seen such a striking color of green since James Potter brought his lovely young wife with him to file his will the day he learned she was pregnant with the child."

Takashi felt Harry shiver as the boy pressed his face into his back and Takashi believed that if the boy had been inclined to speaking (or voicing any sound at all) he would be whimpering. As it was, the boy was frighteningly and disturbingly silent and Takashi briefly wondered if he'd ever hear his cousin speak. Shaking off the random and some what maudlin thought, Takashi gave the lawyer a brittle and slightly overly polite smile as he replied, "Forgive my cousin, Hari is a bit shy and unused to strangers. He was… misunderstood by his former guardians and they had been… unprepared to cope with his uniqueness and because of their… unintentional neglect he dislikes being the center of attention."

"How unfortunate," Bongledash murmured as he stepped back and gestured to the door that led to the private offices of the firm's lawyers. "Given his status as a hero of sorts makes him a celebrity in our society and he is going to garner a considerable amount of attention no matter where he goes. Let's move into my office and see if we can't get your paperwork sorted out. I shall instruct Crimley to fetch a healer to look over your injuries as well."

Twenty minutes later, Takashi was running a hand over his shirt in wonder as both the blood and the tear had been fixed by the healer after she'd used her wand to heal the three bloody gashes on his chest that the youkai had given him during their scuffle. Said healer was currently giving Harry a complete magical check-up, which appeared to require a series of about sixty spells; each spell having been designed to determine the health of a specific system, organ, or bodily function. She had also partially healed the bruising Harry had obtained during the attack as best she could (though most would be left to heal naturally); which Takashi had explained away as an attack by an extremely large stray dog and a poorly stacked pile of heavy boxes.

The sound of a throat being cleared brought Takashi's attention back to the present and he flushed slightly in embarrassment as he smiled sheepishly at the lawyer smiling in amusement at him from behind the mess of papers littering his desk. The wizard then began asking several questions as he filled out the various forms and applications he'd gathered from around the room and Takashi did his best to answer every one. Every few minutes, the jovial man would pass Takashi a completed form with instructions on which lines he needed to place his initials and where his full signature was required.

When Takashi finished signing the last form he was immediately pounced on by the healer who began grilling him about Harry's past care. He passed her the note he'd found from Petunia Dursley and gave her a list of observations he'd made over the weekend in regards to Harry's mental, emotional, and physical health. She asked another couple of questions before she turned back and resumed her spell casting and Takashi frowned a bit when he noted the tense look on Harry's face but chalked it up to the boy being uncomfortable in the presence of two strangers that were showing an uncomfortable amount of interest in him.

After casting one final spell, the healer gathered up a large stack of parchment and passed the entire pile to the lawyer before excusing herself for a moment. She returned a few minutes later carrying a large tray on which sat five tiny syringes filled with clear liquid, a silver sewing needle, a large beaker with a thick green substance in it, eight large empty syringes, and twelve small vials containing strange liquids of varying consistency and color. Takashi winced in sympathy as the healer began administering a series of injections which she calmly identified as various vaccinations that most children received before their fifth birthday.

Harry silently flinched each time the needle bit into his arm and while he squirmed each time the woman touched his arm he made no move to pull away so long as she didn't touch him anywhere else. After administering the first five injections (from the smaller syringes) the healer pricked Harry's right index finger and used her wand to pull seven drops of blood into the air from the small wound. She then directed the blood into the beaker before healing the small wound with a flick of her wrist as she picked up a glass rod and stirred the blood into the green substance. Takashi felt his eyebrows disappear into his hairline as the liquid in the beaker changed from green to pale blue as the woman pulled out the glass rod and tapped it on the edge of the beaker to knock off any clinging liquid.

"There we go," Bongledash declared suddenly, once more drawing Takashi's attention from what the healer was doing. "Everything appears to be in perfect order. All we need is the list of the inoculations, both magical and muggle, that Mr. Potter is currently being given and we should have that in just a moment. Hmm… It seems I have forgotten to ask you if Mr. Potter will be keeping his current name or if you wish to change his name?"

"I haven't given much thought to the matter, either way," Takashi confessed as he glanced back to where Harry was currently being instructed to drink the liquid from a couple of the vials. "Do I need to make a decision now or can it wait a couple of days so I can see what Hari thinks of keeping or changing his name?"

"You'll have until the day of your appointment at Gringotts to come to a decision and it usually takes three to five business days for the goblins to set an appointment. I've already sent off a request for them to schedule a meeting for you and expect to have a reply by tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning due to the celebrity status of your charge. I will send you an owl the moment I have heard back from them and will escort the two of you to the bank on the day of your meeting. I'd suggest the two of you dress formally and I will provide robes for the both of you to wear over your clothes and a hooded cloak so Mr. Potter won't be recognized by the general public."

"Thank you, Bongledash-sama," Takashi murmured. "Your assistance has been most helpful. Can you tell me how long it will take for all of our paper work to be processed?"

"It usually takes the goblins two weeks to process and approve the paperwork though it has been known to take longer in cases where a magical or muggle guardian tries to contest the transfer of custody. I can't see that as happening in Mr. Potter's case since his maternal aunt and uncle already signed over custody of you but we won't find out until the goblins began processing the application."

"You are certain that these documents will be accepted by the… muggle governments? We will be traveling home by plane and I would not like to be accused of kidnapping my cousin or trying to smuggle him out of the country without permission."

"Yes, I am certain. The goblins will file the appropriate documents with the appropriate muggle agencies. In cases where the child is a magical orphan being relocated to another country by a family member, emergency visas are automatically issued to limit the amount of stress the child is forced to endure in order to reduce the chances of said child displaying large amounts of accidental magic which could draw unwanted attention to both the child and our world."

"Ah, I see. Thank you again for all of your help."

An hour later, Takashi had a tired Harry perched on his hip (and his face pressed against Takashi's shoulder) as he cautiously exited the alley and headed back towards the hotel; Madara following them in his wolf form from the roofs of the various buildings they passed. Tucked safely in his briefcase were copies of all the various documents, forms, and applications he'd filled out and signed along with a detailed list of medical instructions and suggestions he'd need to make certain that Harry followed. On top of those was the demon that Takashi had sealed since he had no idea what to do with the youkai and he hadn't wanted to leave it sitting around in case someone accidentally released the violent spirit out of ignorance. Thankfully, the trio made it back to the hotel without any additional encounters with the local youkai and Takashi only stopped by the front desk long enough to order two lunch specials to be sent up to his room for himself and his cousin.

Once back in his room, he tucked Harry (who'd fallen asleep at some point during their walk) into bed so he could sleep off the lingering trauma of the morning, before he picked up the phone and called Japan. This time it was Shigeru who answered the phone and Takashi spent close to twenty minutes answering a few questions about what he'd been doing and several more questions about Harry. Takashi answered them as best he could and also passed along the news that he might not need to stay as long as he had originally feared; carefully explaining the emergency visa provision without uttering the word magic. Providing there were no complications and no one stepped forward to contest the change in guardianship during the approval process it looked like they'd be flying home around his original return date.

Lunch arrived shortly after he hung up and Takashi set everything on the table and made certain the food would keep for a while before he called the airlines so he could purchase an additional ticket on the flight home for Harry. He didn't want to put it off until the last minute since there was no guarantee that there'd be any seats available if he left it for too long. He could always pay to have the flight date extended if he ended up needing to stay a little longer but he'd rather not if he didn't have to. Once he had given the woman on the line his billing information and received confirmation for the additional ticket, he verified that the seat numbers of both tickets be side by side before he thanked her for her time and help.

Feeling as though he'd accomplished everything he'd needed to for the day, Takashi hung up the phone, sat down at the table, and dug into his food. After he finished eating he pulled out the instructions from the healer and read through them a couple of times in order to commit them to memory. Most of them were simple common sense; make certain Harry got plenty of exercise, that he spent at least an hour a day outside in the fresh air, and got at least eight hours of sleep each night and took naps as needed during the day. Then there was a specialized diet the healer had put together in order to help bring Harry's weight gradually up to a more healthy level without resorting to overly fatty foods or foods with large amounts of sugar in them.

The final recommendations from the healer were to have Harry visit an eye doctor and a dentist to have his eyes and teeth checked (since the diagnostic spells only tested for medical issues relating to body and not issues with oral hygiene or clarity of vision); which Takashi had already planned on doing anyway. The reminder had Takashi reaching for the list he'd put together over the weekend and he spent another half an hour on the phone setting up an eye appointment for later that afternoon and another first thing in the morning to have his teeth checked and cleaned. When he finished setting those up, he woke Harry so his cousin could eat his lunch before they went down and called for a cab to take them to the optometrist's office for his appointment.

There was a brief moment when Takashi feared that Harry would refuse to leave the room after what had happened that morning but his fears proved to be groundless. When he gently asked him about it later, Harry had written three simple words in reply; you saved me. Those three words spoke volumes about how much trust Harry had placed in Takashi and the thirty-two year old couldn't help but wonder if that trust was being misplaced. He didn't really know anything about raising a child and while he was certain Touko-san would insist on helping him raise Harry; he knew he couldn't rely upon her for everything. Glancing down at the boy, who was currently clinging to his side as they waited for the taxi, he couldn't help but pray he didn't mess things up too badly because it was clear his cousin had become very attached to him over the short time they'd had together.

Six hours later, the two of them stepped into a Japanese restaurant that had been recommended to them by their latest cab driver, who was of Japanese decent. As they waited to be seated, Harry fiddled with the brand new pair of glasses Takashi had just purchased for him. The rounded rectangular lenses were set into a durable pair of gray Flexon Frames* that would be able to withstand any minor carelessness or neglect. A must if they ended up fighting their way free of yet another youkai attack; something that was pretty much guaranteed based upon the attention the two of them constantly garnered from the spirits and demons.

While they had waited for Harry's glasses to be made, Takashi had taken him to an office supply store and purchased him a pack of mechanical pencils, extra lead, a couple of erasers, several spiral notebooks, and a canvas satchel to carry everything in. He also picked up a couple of practice workbooks so Harry could practice his handwriting and a couple of computer magazines that Harry had shown interest in when they walked back the publication section. There was a brief moment as they stood in the checkout line, when Takashi wondered if he was doing the right thing by encouraging Harry to communicate through writing instead of trying to get him to talk. He quickly brushed off his doubts when he recalled the note the healer had made in her report regarding Harry's perpetual silence.

_Physically, there is nothing wrong with Mr. Potter's vocal cords and he does  
>retain the ability to produce sound. However, it is unlikely that Mr. Potter will<br>ever speak. In depth magical scans have revealed that a localized silencing  
>spell has been permanently placed upon Mr. Potter's vocal cords by his own<br>magic. Accidental magic caused by high levels of stress (most likely combined  
>with extreme fear or frustration) is the only logical explanation for the presence<br>of the ward. _

_The counter spells that were used in an attempt to rectify the situation failed to  
>remove the spell indicating that the child's magic has either permanently<br>embedded the spell into the tissues surrounding Mr. Potter's voice box or his  
>magic has been twisted to view sound as a direct threat. There is only a fifteen<br>percent chance that the child's magic will release the spell on its own in time  
>providing the child is placed in a stress-free environment. Once Mr. Potter reaches<br>his majority the chances of the spell being removed will drop to less than two  
>percent. <em>

Takashi pulled himself out of thoughts with a sigh; he really was having a difficult time paying attention to his surroundings. It had started back when he'd first been told his grandmother had not died at age eighteen and had only become worse when he'd learned about the startling existence of his uncle only to learn he'd been murdered just six years earlier and worse still once he'd met and subsequently taken custody of Harry. The problem was that it was dangerous for Takashi to be distracted. It wouldn't be that big of a deal back in Japan, where most of the youkai either preferred to ignore humans or were rather harmless. Here though, the youkai had been twisted into something evil and he had not yet been able to discover the why or how it had happened though according to Madara the corruption had begun sometime in the early forties and involved magic somehow.

After ordering a simple three course meal (an appetizer, the main course, and dessert), Takashi focused his attention on teaching Harry the proper way to hold and use a pair of chop sticks. Over their shu mai, Takashi broached the subject of changing Harry's name; asking his cousin if he wanted to keep the name his parents gave him or if he wanted to change it. Harry had pinned him with troubled green eyes before scribbling out a single word on the notebook sitting beside between their plates; why?

"Why am I asking you?" Takashi asked in order to clarify what Harry was trying to ask. When the seven year old nodded hesitantly, Takashi set his chop sticks down and studied Harry's worried face for a moment before answering. "I asked you because I want to know which you would prefer." Takashi paused as he tried to find the words to explain what was happening, something he realized he should have done sooner. "Do you remember what I told you about us being family? (Harry nodded) Right now, that isn't enough for me to be able to take you with me when I leave for Japan. I do not wish to leave you behind when I leave nor can I stay here because I have responsibilities waiting for me back home. In order for me to take you with me, I will need to adopt you; which I am prepared to do."

Harry dropped his chopsticks, knocked his pencil and notepad off the table, and spilled his drink as he jerked back and stared at Takashi with wide eyed filled with disbelief, bewilderment, and intense longing. His breathing became ragged as he continued to stare at him while his ice tea dripped unnoticed onto his shirt and pants for two full minutes. Just as Takashi broke eye contact so he could begin mopping up the spill with his napkin (after signaling to a passing waitress to bring a couple more), Harry burst into a flurry of action as he dove beneath the table, scrambled to find his pencil and note book, and then climbed back up onto his chair where he promptly dropped the notepad uncaringly in the middle of the spilt tea. He then scrawled out another two questions using heavy strokes that broke the pencil lead a couple of times (much to Harry's frustration) and tore through several pages once or twice.

_**You want to adopt me? You really want me?**_

Takashi's heart broke into a hundred pieces as he read those two desperate questions and recognized the wealth of emotions that fueled the questions. He also knew that his answer to both questions would have a profound impact on Harry and any relationship the two of them developed. Taking a deep breath in order to center himself, Takashi leaned forward and steadily met Harry's fearful and hopeful green eyes as he answered both questions with complete and utter sincerity.

"Yes."

Harry's eyes began shining brightly as the fear in his eyes morphed into stunned wonder and for a moment Takashi thought his cousin was going to start crying (something he'd not seen the boy do once in all the time they'd spent together, not even during or after one of his frequent nightmares; sobbing yes but not once had he shed a tear). Harry had closed his eyes though as he took a couple of shaky breaths and when he opened them once again there was no trace of the moisture that had been building in them. A heartbeat later, the soon to be seven year old launched himself out of his chair and into Takashi's arms; burrowing his face against Takashi's shoulder as he wrapped his skinny arms around his neck and clung to him for all he was worth.

Takashi held Harry in return, rubbing circles on Harry's back with one hand while he gently rocked him back and forth. He quietly thanked the waitress who had cleaned up the spilt tea and replaced Harry's food (which had been drenched when his drink was knocked over), drink, and chopsticks. She smiled at him before telling him he was a good father in Japanese which made his cheeks grow warm. After a few minutes, Harry reluctantly sat back and timidly smiled up at Takashi before he turned around so he was facing the table; unwilling to return to his chair. Takashi didn't mind, he simply reached out and pulled Harry's plate and cup closer as he shifted Harry to his left knee so he could eat and hold Harry at the same time.

When the waitress brought out their main course, chicken teriyaki with California Rolls for Takashi and beef teriyaki with vegetable tempura for Harry, Takashi ordered one order of Dragon Rolls and one order of Spider Rolls to go for Nyanko-sensei since the youkai was currently sitting outside because he wasn't allowed in the restaurant. Takashi had already promised the wolf in cat's clothing their leftovers and thought the sushi would make a nice treat to let the youkai know his efforts that morning were appreciated and that Takashi didn't blame him for what had happened. Thinking of his troublesome and mostly well meaning bodyguard, Takashi felt a flash of unease as he wondered how Harry would react once he learned the cat wasn't actually a cat.

Harry was already leery of Nyanko as it was, though Takashi was certain Harry was currently unaware of the fact that Nyanko was a youkai. Thankfully, Nyanko-san hadn't pushed the matter by speaking in front of the boy as of yet though there were times when he was certain the youkai had been sorely tempted. Takashi originally didn't bring it up because of how scared Harry had been of the youkai (which he didn't blame the kid for since he'd been haunted by hundreds (possibly thousands) of the twisted spirits for at least five and a half years). He then wanted to give his cousin time to get used to his presence (so he'd feel safe with Takashi) and develop some kind of rapport with Nyanko in his cat form. He was actually surprised that Harry hadn't noticed the powerful youkai following them in his natural form on the way back to the hotel after they'd finished at the lawyer's office; then again, Harry had kept his face buried against Takashi's shoulder most of the way and had fallen asleep before they reached the hotel.

Heaving a mental sigh, Takashi pushed the matter from his mind as he once again corrected Harry's grip on his chopsticks. He then offered Harry a bite of one of his California Rolls when he noticed his cousin eyeing the rice and seaweed wrapped fish curiously. The look of pleased surprise on the small boy's face as he ate the offered piece of sushi brought a smile of approval to Takashi's face; the knowledge that Harry was willing to try new things without the fuss most children would raise pleasing. It meant that there would be one less hurdle for Harry to overcome once they returned to Japan which in turn would mean there would be one less thing for Harry to stress over. And Takashi knew Harry would be under no small amount of stress due to the culture shock he was sure to experience.

Seeing that Harry liked the taste of the sushi, Takashi offered his cousin a second piece which was happily accepted. The only things on Harry's plate that Takashi encouraged Harry to eat more of were the beef and the white rice it had been served on since his body needed the protein and the carbs. Dessert, when it came, was a single sampler platter with four different kinds of dessert; there were two small skewers of dango (in three different flavors that were about the size of a large marble), two small round anpan, a pair of miniature taiyaki filled with cream cheese, and two small bowls of green tea ice cream. Harry tried a little of each but only finished his share of the taiyaki and the ice cream.

Once they were both finished eating, their leftovers boxed in styrofoam boxes, and Nyanko's sushi order was brought out; Takashi paid for their meal and they headed back to the hotel. The moment they stepped into the room, Takashi passed the plastic bag holding the food to Harry and asked him to open the containers and set them on the floor for Nyanko while he crossed the hotel room to open the window so the youkai could enter the room. He'd just pulled the window open when a knock sounded at the door. Thinking it to be a member of the hotel staff checking to see if they needed anything, Takashi asked Harry to move Nyanko's food over behind the bed where whoever was at the door wouldn't see the cat as he headed over to answer the door.

Takashi was more than a little surprised, when after opening the door, he came face to face with an old man (whose beard and hair appeared to be racing each other to the man's knees) wearing an outdated suit in eye-blinding purple with silver pinstripes, a silver and gold tie, matching purple top hat with a silver ribbon wrapped around it, and a pair of half moon glasses. Takashi blinked at the man and frowned as he glanced over his shoulder at the protective shrine thinking that the barrier had been disturbed because he thought the man looked strange enough to be a youkai. When he found the shrine intact, Takashi blanched as he feared the man was a very high-level youkai and his immediate response was to narrow his eyes and protectively place himself between the suspected youkai and the defenseless Harry.

"Be gone wretched demon," Takashi ordered heatedly. "You can not have him and if you insist on attacking us I will seal your soul in a demon jar for all eternity!"

"I beg your pardon?" the man asked slowly as he frowned down at Takashi, who was several inches shorter than the man, his brow wrinkling in confusion.

Takashi opened his mouth to repeat his order only to close it when Nyanko mewed from beside his feet. When he looked down the disguised spirit shook his head no, indicating that the man was not a youkai (much to Takashi's embarrassment), before he narrowed his eyes at the man and let out a growling hiss as he waved a single paw. Takashi blinked and glanced between the man and the cat several times until he noticed the man reach into his suit pocket and lift out a long, thin wooden rod that he immediately recognized as a wand. Letting out a growl of his own, Takashi's hand shot forward and closed around the old man's wrist before the man could finish pulling out his wand.

"My mistake, wizard-san," Takashi growled softly. "You are not one of the demon's that have been hunting my cousin but you are obviously here searching for him no doubt. I advise you to keep your wand in your pocket and your hands where I can see them or Nyanko-sensei might attack you thinking you mean me or my cousin harm. Do not think that you can cast a spell faster than my cat can attack; he has battled demons far more powerful than you."

"My apologies, Mister…?" the old man fished only to continue on with a slight frown when Takashi didn't take the bait. "I did not mean to startle you. I'm actually searching for my missing charge; he was kidnapped late last week from his only family and I tracked him to this hotel earlier this evening. It is possible that I have made mistake but the staff led me to believe that you recently acquired a young boy about seven years old with messy black hair and remarkable green eyes. If you cooperate and turn him over I will not have you arrested on charges of kidnapping."

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Foods:

Anpan – a sweet bun filled with red bean paste  
>Dango – sweet mochi dumplings<br>Taiyaki – fish shaped cake usually filled with red bean paste but can have other fillings

California roll – sushi made with crab, avocado and cucumber wrapped in rice and seaweed (inside out)  
>Dragon roll – sushi made with eel, cucumber, and avocado wrapped in rice and seaweed (inside out)<br>Spider Roll – sushi made with tempura fried soft shell crab, avocado, cucumber, and sometimes caviar (inside out)

*Inside out refers to the way the roll is made/wrapped so that the seaweed isn't as noticeable. All three types of sushi mentioned in this chapter originated somewhere in the US according to google sources.

Shu mai – steamed shrimp dumplings (can also be written as shumai)

**Other notes:**

*Flexon Frames – best frames ever invented in my opinion; especially if you have kids that are prone to grabbing your glasses. The pair I purchased just before my youngest was born lasted me for over ten years whereas I'd gone through eight or nine pairs before that because they kept getting sat on or snapped in half by little fingers. *cries* I was so sad when they finally broke since our new doctor doesn't carry them and our insurance is limited on where we can go to get glasses.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _A bit of action, a bit of magic, a bit of fluff, and now you know why Harry doesn't speak. We also have confirmation that Dumbledore has terrible enough fashion sense to be mistaken for a youkai… *snickers* Next chapter will have the rest of the confrontation between Dumbledore and Takashi play out and see quite a bit of information being thrown about. ~ Jenn_

**08-07-12:**_ This chapter was once again edited to remove all references to laptops, e-mails, and the internet in order to keep the technological advances in the story a little more accurate._


	8. Old Age Does Not a Wise Man Make

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 7: Old Age Does Not a Wiseman Make<span>

_Room # 87, The Radisson Hampshire Hotel,  
>Near Leicester Square, London, England<br>07:52 P.M. Monday, July 27, 1987_

"I do not know who you think you are, _jiisan no baka_, but you are sorely mistaken if you think I am going to just hand you my _itoko_," Takashi countered as politely as he could as he plastered a plastic smile on his face; the only evidence of his anger and worry the heaviness of his accent and the fact that he unknowingly slipped into his native Japanese a couple of times.

"I think you misunderstood me," the old man stated as he drew himself up to his full height and glared imperiously at Takashi, the twinkle that had been present in his eye a moment earlier vanishing. "I was not giving you an option. I will be taking Mr. Potter back to his aunt and uncle; they are the only family he has."

"_Ahou_!" Takashi hissed as he stopped trying to maintain an air of calmness, returning the wizard's glare with interest as he dredged up every ounce of anger and disgust he'd felt upon meeting the Dursleys and seeing how they treated (ignored) Harry. "You have no legal authority to remove my cousin from my care. Not only did our late grandmother request that I take custody of my cousin in her will; the Dursleys did not hesitate to sign the adoption forms the moment I walked through their door. The Dursleys made rather poor guardians and were completely unprepared to raise their own son let alone a child with Hari's capabilities. I suggest you leave now, before I call the authorities to have you arrested. Any questions or complaints you have can be addressed through my attorney, Bongledash-sama."

"You are the grandson of Matthew and Rebecca Potter?" the man asked in shock.

"No. I am the grandson of Reiko Potter, the mother of Hari's father. Matthew-san and Rebecca-san adopted my uncle when my grandmother and her husband died."

"James was adopted?" the old man half asked to himself as he stared at Takashi in shock, his earlier steely determination fading into confusion. "Do you have proof of what you claim?" He asked after several tense seconds passed, his voice far more polite than it had been just a few seconds ago.

"_Hai_. I have my uncle's birth certificate, my grandmother's marriage certificate, and my uncle's certificate of adoption," Takashi answered after he once more receded behind a polite mask, finally dropping the man's wrist as he sensed the man was no longer on the verge of attacking him. "I also have a copy of my grandmother's will, Hari's adoption application, Harry's most recent medical exam (which I might add is the only medical exam he has received in the last five or six years), and the healers instructions to correct the neglect my cousin suffered at the hands of the Dursleys."

The old man seemed to age a couple of decades as he visibly deflated and released the hold on his wand as he removed his hand from his pocket. He reached up and stroked his beard a couple of times in contemplation before wearily addressing Takashi once more, "May I come in? I would like to have a chance to view the documents you mentioned and to see Mr. Potter for myself so that I know he is in no danger and happy with the current arrangement."

"No," Takashi curtly denied which seemed to catch the old man by surprise. "I do not trust you and I will not allow you the chance to kidnap my cousin because I so foolishly let my guard down. If you wish to view a copy of the documents or see Hari it would be best if you made the arrangements through Bongledash-sama."

"If I was to contact Squire Bongledash and he was to agree to join us this evening," the old man slowly extrapolated. "Would you be willing to resolve this tonight?"

Takashi glanced down at Nyanko only to find that the youkai was no longer sitting by his side; a clear message that the wolf spirit no longer deemed the old man a threat (providing the troublesome youkai hadn't wandered off just because he was hungry). Returning his gaze to the old man, Takashi slowly nodded his agreement and noticed that the wizard seemed to regain a measure of life as he tipped his hat to Takashi. The man then stepped away from the door, glanced to either side of him, and disappeared from the hallway with a small pop after spinning on his heel.

Takashi stuck his head out the door to see if he'd just moved out of his line of sight but there was no one in the hallway. He then quickly turned back to face the room to see if the man had snuck passed him only to find the room empty. When he didn't immediately see Nyanko or his cousin he felt a brief wave of panic before he recalled telling Hari to feed the youkai on the other side of the bed and he darted through the room to reassure himself that his cousin hadn't been stolen from under his nose for the second time in one day. Takashi let out a sigh of relief when he found Harry lying on the floor on his belly feeding Nyanko-sensei sushi half a piece at a time. When Harry looked up at him with frightened and worried eyes, Takashi gave him a reassuring smile and murmured that everything would be alright; correctly guessing that the boy had heard every word of his conversation with the wizard.

Fifteen minutes later, when someone knocked on the door for a second time that evening, Takashi looked down and caught Nyanko's eye and ordered in Japanese; "_Sensei, the moment it looks like the wizard is going to try and take Hari by force I want you to protect Hari. If he manages to knock me out or kill me get Hari out of here and take him home. The Yujincho is in my overnight bag; be sure to take it with you._" He waited just long enough to see the cat nod once in understanding before he crossed the room in order to answer the door once more.

Not trusting the old man not to attack the moment he opened the door, Takashi crouched down and kept most of his body out of the line of fire behind the door as he opened the door and peered around the edge. The old man and his lawyer glanced down at him with startled expressions, the older wizard's mouth twitching slightly in amusement as he held up both hands indicating they were empty. Takashi nodded and rose to his full height as he kept his eyes on both wizards.

"_Konbanwa_," Takashi greeted warily as he opened the door just a little wider. "Bongledash-sama, could you please tell me why you were so worried when I turned up at your office this morning?"

"You'd been injured when you were attacked by a stray dog and you were bleeding all over my lobby," Bongledash answered with a frown at Takashi's rather paranoid question.

"_Arigatou_, Bongledash-sama," Takashi murmured as he bowed respectfully to the lawyer before nodding stiffly at the older wizard. "Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. May I order either of you some refreshments?"

"Some tea would be welcome while we discuss this latest turn of events," Bongledash accepted as he entered the room followed by the old man.

Takashi nodded as he closed the door behind the two wizards and made his way over to the phone to call room service while his eyes tracked the older wizard's path to the table. He knew the instant the man caught sight of Harry lying on the floor feeding Nyanko because the man jumped in shock and seemed to wilt a bit as he gazed sadly down at the small boy. Without taking his eyes off the wizard, Takashi ordered a pot of black tea for four, a plate of tea biscuits, and a mug of hot chocolate for Harry. Once he finished giving his order to the woman on the other end of the line, he hung up the phone and inserted himself into the old wizard's line of sight.

"He is much smaller than I expected him to be for a seven year old," the man murmured as he focused on Takashi. "Upon reflection of our earlier meeting it occurred to me that I was remiss in introducing myself. My name is Albus Dumbledore; I am the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards."

"Takashi Natsume, undergraduate and student of psychology," Takashi offered in turn, unconsciously imitating Dumbledore's example of including his occupation as he narrowed his eyes as he recognized the name from the letter that had been left with Petunia Dursley.

"You are a wizard?" Dumbledore asked in surprise when Takashi recognized either Dumbledore's name or list of offices.

Takashi snorted and shook his head in negation before he walked away from the wizened wizard so he could answer the door a third time. He thanked and tipped the older man who delivered his order and brought the small service cart into the room and immediately settled into the familiar and calming task of serving the tea, including setting a saucer of tea on the floor for Nyanko. Once the adults had been served, Takashi gently called for Harry to join them at the table and passed the now nervous child the cup of cocoa and two cookies from the platter. When Harry had been settled, Takashi prepared to stand protectively behind Harry's chair when Dumbledore calmly asked permission to conjure an additional pair of chairs.

Once everyone was comfortably seated, Takashi immediately turned his attention to Dumbledore and dove right into business; his desire to protect Harry overriding his manners, "Did you wish to inspect the authenticity of my documents first or did you wish to have your questions answered, Dumbledore-san?"

"If I may see the certificates first? And I believe you mentioned a medical exam?"

Takashi nodded and got up to fetch his briefcase, grabbing Harry's notebook and pencil the boy had been using to communicate earlier in the event the boy needed to respond to any questions or ask a question of his own. He passed the notebook and pencil to Harry and set his briefcase on his lap so it wouldn't block his view of the old wizard so he could pull out the thick folder that contained all of the paperwork he'd completed that morning.

"Bongledash-sama, would it be possible for you to make another copy of the files for Dumbledore-san like you did this morning?" Takashi requested politely as he felt reluctant to part with the originals.

His lawyer nodded in agreement and two spells later there was a copy of the folder sitting in front of both Bongledash and Dumbledore which would make it easier for the lawyer to answer any questions Dumbledore might have about the paperwork. While the old wizard skimmed through the three inch thick pile of parchment, Takashi leaned back in his chair and sipped at his tea as he kept an eye on the man. He was pulled away from his observations by a tug on his sleeve ten minutes later and he glanced down to find Harry holding out his notebook. Takashi took a few seconds to read the note and then returned his gaze to the two wizards for a brief moment before he replied to the question Harry had posed.

"Please be patient, Hari-kun, our guest may have a few questions he would like to ask you. However, if you go wash and dry your hands I have something that will keep you occupied while you wait."

Harry nodded and quickly dropped down from his chair and Takashi looked up in time to see Dumbledore's gaze follow Harry out of the room, sadness and regret plainly written on his face. As if he sensed Takashi watching him, Dumbledore turned and met Takashi's gaze before returning to his copy of the medical report he held in his hands. Harry returned to his chair five minutes later and glanced up at Takashi with mild expectancy hovering in the depths of his green eyes.

Takashi smiled at his cousin and pulled one of the magazines he'd bought that afternoon, without Harry's knowledge, and removed the plastic wrapper before passing the magazine to his cousin. His smile widened at the way Harry's eyes lit up in excitement the moment he saw the cover of the magazine and felt warmth spread through his chest as the boy gave him an unrestrained smile in return. He reached out and fondly ruffled Harry's hair with one hand and was pleased to note that for once Harry didn't flinch away from the unexpected touch; though that might have had something to do with the fact that the boy had already buried his nose in the computer magazine.

"He seems quite taken with you," Dumbledore observed, having watched the small scene play out. Takashi just smiled in response as he topped off his cup with more tea and gave the old wizards his full attention sensing the man had finished going through the documents. He only had to wait a few seconds before the man continued speaking. "When I placed Harry with his aunt…"

"You dropped him on their porch like so much unwanted baggage," Takashi cut in as he was in no mood to allow the wizard to sugar coat his actions or his words. "Leaving nothing but a rather callous note informing that woman that her sister had been murdered and what could be considered thinly veiled threats in order to force her to accept her nephew into her home without any consideration as to whether or not she was prepared to raise a magical child or whether she even wanted to raise a magical child. You offered her no support to deal with Hari's unique abilities and failed to monitor the situation to insure that Hari was being properly cared for. I will not allow you to downplay the seriousness of your mistakes or make light of all that Hari has suffered due to those same mistakes."

"In the wizarding world, children are generally treasured and it is extremely rare for a child to be neglected or abused. The exception usually occurring in those families of mixed heritage where the non-magical parent was unaware of his or her spouse's status as a witch or wizard prior to the birth of the child or the child's first display of accidental magic. I had truly believed that Petunia would raise Harry as if he were her own son and did not wish to intrude upon their family least I accidentally revealed Harry's location to the general public," Dumbledore explained wearily.

"Harry's status as a celebrity only complicated matters and I only wished for him to have a normal childhood without the added pressure of coping with the multitude of fans he gained overnight, the glory hunting reporters looking for their next big story, or the power hungry politicians that would use him for their own gain. Had I known Harry would be neglected to the extent he was I would have had him removed in an instant. All I can say in my defense is that I am an old man that is just as prone to making mistakes as any other man."

Takashi hummed neutrally in reply as he glanced down and noted that Harry was staring up at Dumbledore with haunted green eyes; the child having understood exactly what had been said, even if a few of the words that the wizard had used had been beyond his comprehension. Reaching out, Takashi brushed his hand lightly over Harry's hair before dropping to rest on the child's back; causing Harry to briefly flinch before he slowly leaned into the touch as he turned to glance up at Takashi. Hoping to reassure his cousin, Takashi offered the boy a warm smile as he lightly rubbed his hand in circle's on Harry's back.

"Will you allow me an opportunity to make up for my mistake?" Dumbledore asked after a moment. Takashi tilted his head to the side and arched an eye brow in silent inquiry in response curious to know what the old man was thinking or planning. "One of my responsibilities as Chief Warlock is to review the adoption applications of magical orphans; I would have been notified of your application within hours of filing the paperwork at Gringotts. I was also named Harry's magical guardian when his godfather was arrested on charges of murder after he betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort."

Bongledash, who'd mostly just been observing up to this point, shuddered and jumped the moment the dark lord's name was mentioned before the younger wizard sheepishly squirmed under Dumbledore's knowing gaze.

"I am not certain I like where you are heading with this information," Takashi stated with a frown as he wondered what Dumbledore was playing at.

"Forgive me, I did not mean to sound as if I was going to use my positions to force you into doing something you did not wish to do," Dumbledore hastily clarified with a self depreciating smile. "I brought them up simply to provide you with an overview of how I might be able to help you. After skimming through your application I can see that you have a legitimate custody claim and can use those positions to expedite your approval so that Harry's transition into your family can proceed as swiftly and smoothly as possible. I can also seal the records to prevent the media from publishing the details of Harry's adoption which will allow Harry a measure of anonymity until he attends school. You will be allowing Mr. Potter to attend Hogwarts when he reaches his eleventh birthday, won't you? His name was placed on the school's register the moment he was born and his parents made arrangements for his tuition to be paid prior to their untimely deaths."

"Your offer to speed up the approval process for Hari's adoption would be appreciated, I had been concerned that the matter would be drawn out for several months and I have many obligations back home that require my attention," Takashi replied with no little amount of relief. "As to whether or not my cousin will attend the magical school you mentioned; I can not say without knowing more. Where is the school located? Is it a day school or a boarding school? What is the average number of years a student is expected to attend? Do you provide public transportation for the students or must they provide their own? What type of education is Hari required to have prior to entry? Will he be required to take an entrance exam if he has already been accepted? What type of a curriculum do you provide the students? Are there programs available through the school to help Hari with his… disability for lack of a better word?"

"Hogwarts is located in Scotland, it is a mixed boarding school (with the girls being housed in separate dorms), students are required to complete seven years of classes, and all students ride the Hogwarts' Express at the beginning and end of term and in the event that they return home during the winter and spring holidays. There are no prerequisites for attending Hogwarts, though it is expected that each student be fully capable of reading and writing English, and no entrance exam will be administered to any of the new students. All a child needs to have in order to be offered the opportunity is a magical core with magical index of thirty-three or higher; Harry was registered at birth with an index of eighty-seven which is on the high end of the spectrum with ninety-nine being the absolute highest. I was more than a little concerned when I read that his index had dropped down to eighty-four at some point after being left with his maternal aunt; a clear indication that he'd been under considerable stress for an extended period of time."

"As it is, once a child begins attending school, they are taught low level, low risk spells that teach them how to control their magic under the guidance of their professors. The classes that all students are required to take for the first five years of their education are broken down into three basic types of classes; you have your wand based subjects which include Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts (with Charms and Transfiguration including lectures on the theory of magic). Next are the passive practical classes that require a person's innate magic but use few, if any, actual spells; those classes are Potions, Herbology, and Flying Class (the latter of which is only offered for first years)."

"The final group of classes is strictly informational or theoretical in nature and those two classes are; Astronomy and History of Magic. In third year, all students have the option of adding one or more electives which include; Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, or Divination. The first three are considered passive practical classes and the latter two informational. More information on those five courses is usually provided to the students at the end of their second year. To answer your question about providing Harry assistance due to his unique condition; we would offer him additional instruction with one of our professors since silent spell casting does require more control than spoken spells and usually isn't taught until sixth year."

"You do not offer any math, science, computer courses, language, writing, physical education, music, or art classes?" Takashi asked in surprise. "And is your school the only magical school available or are there schools in other countries? I do not know if I would feel comfortable with my cousin spending what amounts to seven years so far from Japan."

"You would take Harry out of England?" Dumbledore asked in shock, though how he could have missed the fact that Takashi had applied for an emergency (or special circumstances) visa on behalf of Harry was a mystery.

"I only came to England in order to track down my uncle," Takashi explained with a tight smile. "What I found instead was my uncle's son in need of a family that would accept him unconditionally. As an unwanted orphan who spent most of his childhood being passed from family to family until I turned fifteen, I could easily relate to Hari's situation. By taking Hari back to Japan with me I can provide him what he sorely needs: a family. I won't be raising him alone and the Fujiwaras are a wonderful couple; they accepted me as part of their family and they have already promised to do the same for Hari. He will be loved." He paused long enough to make sure the point he was making was driven home before he brought the conversation back around to the matter of Harry's magical schooling. "I believe we were just discussing the lack of standard courses offered and the potential existence of another school closer to Japan?"

"I have tried to incorporate new classes over my tenure as Headmaster but have been blocked by the Governors each time due to some of the prejudices that are prevalent in our society," Dumbledore answered regretfully. "Few, if any, wizards and witches see the need to study what they consider frivolous nonsense aside from the occasional muggleborn that takes independent courses during the summer months. You will find it is the same at any magical institution worldwide and there are several schools of magic scattered across the continents; four in Europe, eight spread throughout the North and South Americas, another three in Africa, six in the Middle East, one in Australia, and twelve throughout Asia and India; one of them hidden away in the mountains of Hokkaido Island, Japan."

When Takashi leaned forward and opened his mouth to request more information about the Japanese school, Dumbledore held up a hand to stop him as the elderly wizard continued speaking in a tired voice, "Yes, the Japanese school would be much closer and will offer the same courses as Hogwarts and possibly a few more that Hogwarts does not. However, before you think it Harry's best option for his magical training I implore you to hear me out." Takashi frowned but nodded silently after glancing down to check on Harry, who was dragging his finger along beneath the words of an article on some upcoming software program that would be released in October.

"The Potter family has been attending Hogwarts for generations, it has become part of their heritage and while living abroad may be the best thing for Harry at this time; would it be fair to deny him a chance to reconnect to that heritage? Once Harry reaches his majority he will have responsibilities that he has inherited through the Potter estate that will require him to have an understanding of how the British Magical community functions or he stands to lose a large chunk of his inheritance. There are also other things that tie Harry's future to this country and should you try to break those ties it could have negative consequences for Harry at some point in his future. That is not to say that he will need to live his entire life here; but he will need to form ties with his peers in this country so that he will have allies he can rely on when he comes of age."

Takashi narrowed his eyes as he considered Dumbledore's arguments and he wondered the wizard meant by ties binding Harry's future when a fragment of prophecy floated through his thoughts and he stiffened as he stifled a gasp. Dumbledore and Bongledash both frowned at him in concern but Takashi waved his hand to indicate he was fine even as he pinned the older wizard with calculating brown eyes.

"You speak of a prophecy," Takashi stated; taking a wild shot in the dark to see if the old wizard knew of Reiko's prophecy and if he would willingly speak of it.

"How do you know of that?" Dumbledore demanded tightly as he jumped in his seat before he suddenly leaned forward to fix Takashi with intense blue eyes that glittered dangerously (his half hidden wand sending an unseen spell in the direction of the magical lawyer).

"So I was right," Takashi murmured instead of answering as he relaxed and settled back in his chair as he studied the old wizard over the top of his tea cup. "The question is… how much of the prophecy have you seen and how much of your interpretation of the part you know is flawed because you did not have access to all of the facts?"

"I know the entire prophecy, I was there when it was given," Dumbledore replied indignantly as he sat up straighter. "And my interpretation was not flawed in any way; I'm well aware that it could have applied to two different families. I ask again, how did you learn of the prophecy?"

"You know all thirty six lines of the prophecy; all ten verses? I did not think there was anyone alive that would know all thirty-six lines. I only know them because my grandmother left me her journal containing a written copy of the prophecy and close to twelve years of research notes. Even she was missing several pieces of the puzzle though; so just how certain are you that you have not left out or missed some important bit of information that could change the meaning of the entire prophecy?"

"Thirty-six lines? Ten verses? There are only five lines; a single verse."

It was Takashi's turn to frown as he leaned forward to prop his elbows on the table after setting his cup down to one side. He tilted his head to one side and studied again the line of prophecy that had surfaced when he'd been thinking about Dumbledore's comment about ties. He dropped his chin down to rest on his outstretched thumbs after lacing his fingers together as he mused, "Bound by destiny's touch? He is bound by a second prophecy?" He lifted his eyes from the table and focused his gaze on Dumbledore over his fingers as he addressed the wizard once more, "What is the wording of the prophecy of which you spoke?"

"I hardly think…"

"Do not think," Takashi stated in a no nonsense voice. "If you wish for me to seriously consider allowing Hari to return to attend your school for the reasons which you have voiced then I will know exactly what it is he will be forced to face for prophecy's sake so that I can see him prepared for that which he must do."

"Harry is too young to be burdened with knowledge of what will come," Dumbledore protested. "He deserves to have the childhood he has so far been denied."

"And a childhood he shall have," Takashi countered without hesitation. "Seeing to it that he has the tools to complete his task will not interfere with that childhood but putting off such training will only hinder him and risk the chance of failure. Now, if you would; the prophecy? Or if you'd rather not speak it out loud you can write it on a piece of paper. It doesn't matter to me either way since I would have eventually written it down so I could study it in depth."

"Surely you do not think you are qualified to interpret a prophecy without proper training," Dumbledore protested once again.

"You only assume I have not had any proper training," Takashi countered. "I have studied both eastern and western philosophies, done an in-depth study of the folk lore, myths, and legends from over twenty different cultures, and have been a student of theology* for ten years. I have taken a close look at over forty different methods that have been used throughout the past six centuries to predict the future; which included the study and interpretation of prophecies. And I am only two years away from completing my doctorate in clinical psychology. So, while I may not have specifically taken classes in Divination and have never practiced the Art myself; I think I can objectively interpret a prophecy or two without bringing about the end of the world as we know it through ignorance."

"I see," Dumbledore replied in a subdued tone as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a red quill made from an absurdly long feather and a glass bottle of what looked like gold ink. "Do you have something I could write the prophecy on since I seem to have forgotten to bring any spare parchment?"

Takashi nodded and asked Nyanko to bring him his duffle bag. Once he had the requested bag, he dug out his grandmother's journal and flipped to the back of the book where there were several score of blank pages. He then passed the open book to Dumbledore, taking care that the pages didn't flip since he didn't want the man catching sight of his grandmother's prophecy at the moment. He then watched the wizard scribe the prophecy down with elegant looping strokes that spoke of years upon years of practice writing with a quill; when he finished the man tapped his wand to the page to dry the ink and to place a weak privacy spell so that no one but Takashi could read the prophecy unless he gave them permission.

Dumbledore then passed the journal back and Takashi immediately flipped he book around and pulled a pen out of his back pocket. He read through the short verse once, snorting twice, before he read it through a second time as he translated it from English to Japanese; taking the time to pull the English to Japanese dictionary that had once belonged to his grandmother out of his duffle bag so he could research a couple of the words before committing to a specific translation. When he was finished he read the translation out loud so that Nyanko could hear it and caught Dumbledore wincing out of the corner of his eye.

_The one with the power to destroy the Dark Lord approaches  
>Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies<br>And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not  
>And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives<br>The one with the power to destroy the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies_

"_Does that translation sound about right to you, Dumbledore-sama_?" Takashi asked dryly in Japanese as he looked up from the book and arched an eyebrow at the ancient wizard; for once addressing him with a little more respect.

"_Yes, though I would use the word 'vanquish' in place of 'destroy' in the first and fifth line,_" Dumbledore responded in kind, confirming Takashi's suspicion that the man spoke fluent Japanese.

"Hnn," Takashi replied without emotion. "Would you be willing to write out your interpretation of this prophecy so that I might later compare it to my own analysis?"

Dumbledore nodded and accepted the book back, flipping to the next page, before asking if he wanted it to be written in English or Japanese and Takashi requested it in English since that was what he'd written the original prophecy in. While he was occupied with that, Takashi checked the time and noticed that it was well after Hari's bedtime. A glance at his cousin found the child sleeping face down on his magazine and Takashi chuckled softly before he gathered the small child into his arms and carried him over to the bed while Nyanko jumped up onto the table and sat watching Dumbledore write.

Once Harry had been tucked into bed, Takashi returned to the table and gently woke Bongledash since the man had fallen asleep at some point during Takashi's and Dumbledore's discussion about prophecies. When Dumbledore finished writing and applying the same two spells to the notes, Takashi tucked the journal back into his duffle bag without bothering to read through Dumbledore's interpretation; choosing instead to bring their conversation back to the original topic of discussion; Harry's magical education.

"How many hours a day do the students spend in lecture? How many in the lab? Do they have mandatory, structured study periods or are the students expected to study and complete their homework in their free time? How much free time are the students given on a weekly basis? And what type of clubs and activities are offered to the students?"

Takashi listened intently to Dumbledore's answers, borrowing Harry's notebook so he could take notes on everything he'd learned about Hogwarts so far. He then asked additional questions on the school's various rules and polices, about the current staff, and quality of food that was provided and if they offered tailored meals for those children with special dietary needs. That brought up questions regarding medical care over the course of the school year since the students boarded at the school and methods of communication since Dumbledore had already revealed that technology did not mix well with magic.

Near midnight, Dumbledore and Bongledash took their leave after making arrangements to meet with Takashi and Harry the following afternoon so Dumbledore could escort Takashi and Harry to Gringotts to take care of the adoption application. At the same time, Takashi would be able to withdraw a nominal amount of wizarding money to purchase a couple of books to help him better understand the magical world and a magical suitcase that would make transporting all of Harry's belongings easier.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ahou – another way to say fool or idiot (sometimes spelled aho)  
>Itoko – cousin<br>Jiisan – old man  
>Jiisan no baka – stupid old man (I'm not certain I wrote this one properly because I applied my very limited knowledge of Japanese based upon various anime shows where they translate NarutoNatsume no Baka as Stupid Naruto/Natsume or Naruto/Natsume you're an idiot. If I did it wrong and you know the proper way to write it, please feel free to correct me as I always appreciate learning the correct way to translate certain phrases.)  
>Konbanwa – good evening<p>

**Notes:**

*Student of Theology: When I have Takashi say he has been a student of theology here he means that he has been studying different religions for ten years; not studying a specific religion or preparing to become a priest, monk, minister, or other religious figure. For the purposes of this story I am using the following two definitions of theology:

1) To make comparisons between religious traditions  
>2) To better understand various religious traditions<p>

My reasoning for Takashi studying various religions is so that he can better understand the various youkai that he frequently encounters, create stronger protective wards and barriers, and learn about the various spiritual powers ascribed to different religions. I imagine it would also help him relate to the children he eventually wishes to help once he obtains his doctorate. I will not bring my religious preferences or repeat various religious philosophies in the story as that is not the focus of my story and I do not wish to insult or offend anyone. (Something that inevitably happens whenever religions are discussed from my personal experiences.) I just wanted to give Takashi a little bit more depth and a unique education that allows him to accept and understand many things he might not have been able to otherwise.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _So... there's the manipulative but remorseful Dumbledore who is trying to make things right. He won't be changing his spots though and he'll continue to be misguided, if well meaning, throughout the rest of the story... especially once Harry begins attending Hogwarts. Right now he's just feeling extremely guilty and Takashi didn't hesitate to throw his mistakes in his face. ~ Jenn_

**08-02-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	9. The Fine Art of Island Hopping

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 8: The Fine Art of Island Hopping<span>

_International Flight # JL402,  
>Heathrow Airport, London, England<br>11:15 A.M. Friday, August 21, 1987_

Takashi hid a smile as he watched his recently adopted son press his small hands up against the window as he peered, wide-eyed out at the various planes that were taking off and landing. The two of them had been some of the first passengers allowed to board the plane since they both held first class tickets (Takashi unwilling to be bumped back to the coach section of the plane since he worried the higher number of strangers crowding around him would cause the seven year old to panic). Their flight would be leaving in approximately ten or fifteen minutes; once those flying coach had been seated and the last of the luggage had been loaded. Takashi was looking forward to being home once more but he worried how the child beside him would handle all of the changes; the least of which was getting him used to answering to his new name.

When they had gone to meet with the goblins to finalize Harry's adoption almost a month ago, Takashi had once again asked Harry if he wanted to keep his name or if he wanted to change it. He took the time to explain to the seven year old that his old name would stand out and draw attention to him once they reached Japan because it was an obviously English name. He also took the time to explain how his name would be recognized by any witch or wizard that heard it since he was something of a celebrity in the magical world because of what had happened the night his parents died. Dumbledore had balked over the fact that Takashi had informed Harry that he was famous but Takashi shot him down saying it was better for Harry to be made aware of his status in order to prepare him to deal with any attention he garnered because of the status. Harry's response had been to ask what he would be called if he wanted to change his name.

Takashi told him his new family name (or last name) would be Natsume, the same as his own, which had made Harry's eyes glitter with unshed moisture as they shone with hope and excitement. He was then told he could keep his first name or middle name to use as his given name if he wanted or he could pick a Japanese name so he wouldn't stand out so much once he began attending school. When Harry had shown curiosity at the mention of a Japanese first name, Takashi had listed off a few of the more common names and also told Harry what each name meant in English. By the time they'd sat down with the goblin committee that would be handling their case, Harry had asked if he could have the name Ryuu. When asked why he liked that name out of all the ones Takashi had given him, he'd written that he wanted a name strong enough to scare away the monsters and he thought dragons were the fiercest creatures in the world.

Dumbledore had looked sad as he watched Takashi write the name Natsume Ryuu into the various sections of the paperwork where the child's name needed to be listed. Takashi knew exactly what was bothering the old wizard and so had given the man a slight concession, by verbally reminding Harry that he would still be able to use his birth name when dealing with matters related to the wizarding world. That would allow him to be recognized when he needed or wanted to be and remain anonymous when he didn't want the attention. Takashi had then requested that Dumbledore register Harry's name for school as Natsume Ryuu (or rather the westernized Ryuu Natsume) and allow Harry to announce his former name to any friends he made or to the school at large when he felt more comfortable being the center of attention. Dumbledore had protested at first but Takashi remained firm, stating that thrusting Harry into the spotlight like that would only make it harder for him to make new friends or just be himself and Dumbledore eventually (if grudgingly) agreed.

Once they finished with the legal portion of their meeting, they addressed the financial portion where Takashi made arrangements for quarterly updates to be forwarded to his home in Takashima Town to spare the messenger birds used by the magical world from making monthly trips. At the same time, Takashi was given a crash course in magical currency and goblin banking policies; taking extensive notes so he could refer to them later. Next they dealt with the two keys that Takashi had found with the items left in the safety deposit box; which turned out to be vault keys. One key was to Edward Potter's trust vault (Reiko's husband) and the other was to an heirloom vault that Reiko had opened; both of which had been willed jointly to Takashi and her youngest son, Jiro (James).

Finally, Harry's picture and fingerprints were taken for his passport and visa; which would be ready in exactly one week. The meeting adjourned shortly after that, with a single goblin escorting Takashi and the newly renamed Ryuu down to the two vaults they shared so Takashi could empty the heirloom vault (hoping that the missing half of the Yujincho would be among the items stored there) and to withdraw a bit of money with which to purchase a few books and supplies. Takashi had thoroughly enjoyed the wild cart ride through the tunnels, which reminded him of flying on Madara's back, while Ryuu had been uncertain whether he had enjoyed it or if he'd found it frightening.

Takashi had nearly panicked when all they found in the heirloom vault was a small drawstring pouch made from some kind of lizard skin until the goblin explained it was a mokeskin pouch and that only the owner could remove any of the items from inside of it. Both man and boy had been suitably impressed with the rather large piles of glittering coins in the trust vault and Takashi had made Ryuu grin when the thirty-two year old had jumped in the pile of gold and pretended to swim (which in turn made the goblin snort in either disbelief or restrained amusement – Takashi hadn't been able to tell at the time). Once he was finished acting the fool, he counted out two hundred galleons (the amount recommended by Dumbledore) and dropped them into the bag provided by the goblin. Finally, he counted out ten galleons, ten sickles, and ten knuts that he pocketed in case he saw anything that interested him and then picked up an additional five galleons that he gave to Harry for the same reason.

Once they returned to the surface, Dumbledore (who'd waited for them) escorted them to a couple of stores (most notably the book store, the stationary store, the luggage store, and a sweet shop) before he escorted them out of the magical alley. Before he took his leave, Dumbledore had requested to meet with the two of them a couple of times before they left and Takashi accepted with far less reservation that he would have shown the evening before. After dropping their new purchases off in their hotel room, Takashi had taken Ryuu out for dinner to celebrate his adoption at the same Japanese Restaurant they'd eaten at the night before.

Takashi was pulled back into the present when the captain's voice cut through the plane as he urged everyone to take their seats and turn their attention to the flight attendants who would be giving them a brief demonstration while the plane was taxied out to the runway strip. A quick glance to the side confirmed that Harry… no Ryuu was properly buckled into his seat and that his backpack was safely stored beneath the space provided under the chair in front of him. Har… Ryuu wasn't really paying attention to the demonstration on emergency procedures that was being given, his eyes still glued firmly to the window. Takashi wasn't concerned; the airline did provide laminated guides with the same information on them and once they were in the air, Takashi could have Har… Ryuu read it.

_Hari isn't the only one who is going to have to get used to his new name_, Takashi thought to himself with a slight smile as he turned his eyes forward to watch the young woman up near the front of the plane demonstrate the proper way to buckle and release the seat belts while a young man translated her commentary into Japanese.

Ten minutes later the plane picked up speed as they headed down the runway until they were suddenly airborne and gaining altitude rapidly. In the seat beside Takashi, Har… Ryuu was gripping the arm rests of his chair tightly as his eyes remained glued on the world outside the window; his green eyes growing wider as the airport and the surrounding city shrank before his eyes as they rose higher until suddenly they were surrounded by nothing but blue sky and fluffy white clouds.

The seven year old spent the first two hours of the flight watching the sky outside grow dark and trying to see the various landmasses and bodies of water passing beneath them, sitting up on his knees as he practically pressed his face up against the glass. Once the last of the sunlight had faded, he'd taken to watching for the large groupings of lights on the ground that represented large cities and trying to see the stars. He probably would have stared out the window for the rest of the trip as well if not for Takashi passing him a blanket and a pillow (which he'd requested from the flight attendant) and telling him to try and get some sleep. Ryuu had nearly protested but a promise from Takashi to wake him for their in-flight meal in a couple of hours had the boy curling up in his seat where he drifted off with minutes.

After requesting the flight attendant to kindly wake him when they served the in-flight meal, Takashi settled back to get some sleep as well knowing that the jetlag would hit him hard otherwise; due to the virtual loss of eight hours because of the time differences between London and Tokyo.

* * *

><p><em>Haneda Airport (Tokyo International Airport)<br>Ōta, Tokyo, Japan  
>10:38 A.M. Saturday, August 22, 1987<em>

Takashi carried Ryuu's on his left hip to prevent the seven year old from being swept away in the crowd as they followed Tanuma Kaname (a good friend of Takashi's who'd volunteered to meet the travelers at the airport) who was pushing a luggage cart that held their luggage. Takashi didn't know what he'd have done if Kaname hadn't offered to meet them as he would have had a hard time keeping a close eye on Ryuu (who'd begun panicking the moment they cleared customs and stepped into the main portion of the airport) and dealing with their luggage.

The poor kid had been pushed and accidentally grabbed by no less than ten people and if he'd had the ability to speak he surely would have been screaming in sheer terror and frustration. Because, while Ryuu had learned to tolerate physical contact from Takashi he absolutely hated for anyone else to come within five feet of him let alone actually touch him. Thankfully, Takashi hadn't sensed any youkai in the crowd because he suspected that the presence of one or more spirits would have pushed Har… Ryuu over the edge and either caused an incident with accidental magic or sent the boy running for the nearest hiding place. As it was the seven year old had been wound so tight he hadn't so much as looked at Kaname when Takashi had introduced the other man; his face (and subsequently his glasses) pressed firmly against Takashi's chest and his hands fisted tightly in Takashi's shirt.

Kaname, who knew about Ryuu's ability to see youkai and the difficult time he'd had before Takashi had adopted him through the phone calls the two had exchanged while Takashi was out of the country, took it in stride and didn't press the frightened child. The three of them had then made their way to the baggage claim to retrieve their two suitcases; something that made Kaname give Takashi a funny look over since he'd expected the other man to bring all of his new son's belongings not reduce them to a single bag. Takashi had caught the look and smirked at his friend knowing exactly what he was thinking and wished he could share the truth about magic with Kaname.

When they managed to find a break in the press of bodies exiting the airport, Takashi stepped ahead of Kaname and reached out with his free hand to hail an unoccupied taxi. When the cab pulled up in front of them, Takashi moved forward to quickly secure their ride while Kaname transferred their suitcases and carry-on bags into the trunk and passed the briefcase to Takashi through the open door. Half an hour later they finally managed to navigate their way out of the airport and the driver turned the car south and west; Takashi having decided to return by taxi instead of subjecting Ryuu to another crowd in order to ride the train. Kaname was a bit surprised but he didn't mind since it would give the two men a chance to catch up with each other and allow Ryuu to grow accustomed to Kaname's presence without the added stress of additional strangers.

It took them two hours to navigate their way through Tokyo and another three hours to reach Takashima. Ryuu never once released his death grip on Takashi's shirt during the first four hours of the drive nor did he remove his face from where it was pressed against Takashi's chest. Takashi had tried to coax him into relaxing by describing the passing scenery once they were out of the city and passing through some of the more rural areas but he didn't budge. He knew the seven year old was awake because of how tense he remained throughout the drive and the way he would flinch each time Takashi rubbed his back or carded his fingers through his hair.

Takashi tried not to press Ryuu but he couldn't help but worry over the boy's unresponsiveness. He wasn't surprised that he'd reacted badly to the crowds, he'd known Ryuu disliked being surrounded by large crowds, but he wasn't quite certain what had set the boy off since Heathrow Airport had been nearly just as crowded. He absently exchanged small talk with Kaname while his mind shifted gears and sorted through everything he knew about Har… Ryuu. Using the skills he'd learned and developed through the past fourteen years of classes and training, Takashi analyzed every aspect of Ryuu's behavior since the day he met his cousin. He even included the information the Dursleys had given him (ignoring their biased, ignorant, and spiteful opinions and beliefs).

Once he'd organized that information in his mind he had a tentative theory of why Ryuu was currently impersonating a limpet. The problem was that he didn't have all of the pieces of the puzzle and he'd only just realized how critical those missing pieces were to understanding Ryuu's behavioral patterns. _I don't know what Har… Ryuu experienced during his years living with the Dursleys. I know how he reacted, based upon what I have seen and what his aunt and uncle told me but I do not know what happened to initiate those reactions._ Takashi thought as he cut off in the middle of a sentence and sat up straighter, causing Kaname to jump in surprise before giving him a concerned look. Takashi smiled tightly and apologized, stating he'd just realized something before he picked up the conversation where he'd left off; his thoughts also continuing where they'd left off.

_I have made too many assumptions and drawn conclusions based upon the end results instead of trying to get to the heart of the matter. I know he is frightened of the youkai and that the youkai flocked to him like moths to flames but that does not tell me what the youkai did or said to him. Did they mentally torment him? Physically? Emotionally? What did Har… Ryuu see in those five and a half years he lived with the Dursleys? He's never spoken of the monsters, I never asked him to speak of them, the only time I've brought them up was when I first told him I could see them, when I asked him how he knew about the shrine, and the few times one of the youkai got too close. We've also never discussed his nightmares; though I know he still has them even if they do not occur as frequently as they did when I first took him in. _

Knowing now that he'd missed something so obvious, Takashi made plans to rectify his oversight. Oh, he knew that there'd been a hundred other things clamoring for his attention from the moment he'd learned Reiko hadn't died at eighteen like he'd always been told and things only grew more hectic once he'd reached England but that didn't excuse his lapse in common sense. He may only be human and prone to making mistakes as easily as every other human out there but he'd been taught to always look at every facet of a problem before drawing conclusions.

Tucking his newfound awareness safely to one side of his mind so he could work out a way to deal with the issue when he could give it his full attention, Takashi returned his complete attention to Kaname. And though they mainly spoke Japanese (out of habit) Takashi made it a point to occasionally direct a comment or two in English towards Ryuu so that his adopted son would know he hadn't been completely forgotten.

Relief washed through Takashi when they were about an hour away from their destination as Har… Ryuu finally relaxed enough to pull his face away from Takashi's shirt. Worried and haunted green eyes had then glanced up at Takashi's face before swinging around to peer curiously at Kaname who was currently regaling Takashi with the tale of a prank that Kitamoto and Nishimura had pulled on Sasada Jun, a young woman that all four men were friends with. Not understanding a word that was being said, Ryuu soon turned his attention to the passing countryside; his eyes widening further as he took in the lush forests, endless fields, towering mountains, and occasional building.

Takashi smiled at Ryuu's reflection in the window even as he asked Kaname what Sasada's response had been to finding a hundred newts crawling around in her bathtub.

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><p><em>The Fujiwara Home<br>Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>03:58 P.M. Saturday August 22, 1987<em>

"_We're home_," Takashi announced in English as the taxi slowed to a stop outside of the low wall that surrounded the house and yard of the Fujiwara's modest two story home.

Ryuu whipped his head around, from where he'd been watching the passing houses and buildings through the other window, to stare at the place where he'd be living for the foreseeable future. Trepidation filled his eyes as they fell on the elderly couple that was standing just outside the front door of the house their faces filled with excitement.

"_Touko-san and Shigeru-san are two of the nicest people I have ever met_," Takashi stated softly hoping to ease Ryuu's nervousness. "_They took me in when I was fifteen and we have been a family ever since. You have nothing to fear from them, Ryuu-kun._"

"_Touko-san is the world's best cook too. She makes the best taiyaki I have ever tasted_," Kaname added as he opened his door and grinned at Ryuu when the boy turned to look him in the eye for the first time. "_She fills them with red bean paste, cream cheese, and custard and if we are lucky, she'll have made the ones filled with cream cheese and raspberry jam for dessert tonight._"

Ryuu's eyes drifted from Kaname to the couple standing in front of the house, his head tilting to one side as he gave the man's words serious consideration. A light frown pulling the corners of his mouth down slightly as he leaned back and glanced up at Takashi for confirmation. Takashi smiled and nodded to affirm Kaname's statement and he had to hold back the laugh he felt rise in the back of his throat as he watched Ryuu gaze back at Touko-san with curious interest as his small tongue darted out to lick his lips for a second before disappearing once again. Ryuu had grown extremely fond of the stuffed cakes during the many meals the two had shared at the Japanese Restaurant in London.

"_Why don't we get out and go introduce you, Ryuu-kun,_" Takashi suggested as Kaname exited the car and began helping the driver unload the luggage.

Takashi grabbed his brief case and slid out of the taxi, one hand protecting Ryuu since the seven year old hadn't wanted to let go of him. Once they were out of the car, Ryuu reluctantly allowed Takashi to set him down on the ground while he paid the fare for the cab. Ryuu staggered a bit, his legs a bit stiff and numb from spending the five hour drive tensely clinging to Takashi coupled with the twelve hours spent on the plane. Kaname passed the two carry on bags to Takashi, who slung Ryuu's backpack and his duffel bag over his shoulder, before he picked up to two suitcases. The three of them then entered the yard; Ryuu clinging to Takashi's shirttail with both hands while Takashi's free hand was draped lightly across his back for support (and to prevent the child from bolting back out of the yard).

Touko-san met the three of them halfway across the yard, when she could no longer restrain herself, and she quickly engulfed Takashi in a hug as she babbled on about how much she'd missed him since he left. Shigeru joined them a moment later, automatically taking half of Kaname's burden as he reached out and ruffled Takashi's hair fondly while he smiled down at the child clinging to the younger man's shirt and half hiding behind him. Takashi could see the pain in the older couple's eyes when Ryuu hid behind him and pressed his face against his back; it was a pain he had often seen in their eyes when he'd first come to live with them.

"_Ryuu-kun, come on out from behind me so I can introduce you,_" Takashi coaxed once Touko had released him and taken a step back. "_I promise, no one is going to hurt you and I will be right here with you._"

Ryuu looked up with those haunted eyes that cut through Takashi's heart every time he saw them. Takashi gave him an encouraging nod without breaking eye contact and held his breath as he waited to see what his adopted son would do. He let a soft sigh of relief when Ryuu reluctantly moved forward so he was standing next to him instead of hiding behind him and Takashi smiled as he softly praised Ryuu's bravery. Looking back up at his foster parents, Takashi couldn't help the blush that spread across his face when he saw the look of pride that Shigeru gave him as the old man glanced between Ryuu and Takashi a couple of times.

"Shigeru-san, Touko-san, and Kaname-senpai; may I present my cousin, Potter Hari James, who is now my adopted son, Natsume Ryuu." Takashi began, including Kaname because he hadn't been able to introduce him earlier since the seven year had been panicking at the time. He'd included Ryuu's birth name in the introduction because he wanted to make certain Ryuu's heritage from his parents wasn't completely forgotten. "_Ryuu-kun, I'd like you to meet my foster father – Fujiwara Shigeru, my foster mother – Fujiwara Touko, and my good friend – Tanuma Kaname._"

"It's nice to finally meet you, Ryuu-kun," Touko-san warmly announced as she crouched down so she was on the same level as Ryuu. "Takashi-kun has told us so much about you but he forgot to tell just how adorable you are with those beautiful green eyes."

"Welcome to our home and to our family, Ryuu-kun," Shigeru added gently when his wife had finished.

"_Touko-san said she is happy to meet you,_" Takashi translated when Ryuu looked up at him uncertainly, the seven year old not understanding what the older couple had said to him. "_She also said that she thinks your eyes are a beautiful shade of green. Shigeru-san was welcoming you home._"

Looking up at his foster parents, Takashi added, "We had a bit of a panic at the airport and he's still a little shaken right now but I'm certain he'll come around once he's had a chance to get used to everyone. I've taught him a few words in Japanese but for the most part he only writes and understands English. I know there is quite a bit I left out the few times we spoke while I was in England but I didn't think it was a conversation to be held over the phone. Once his attention is otherwise occupied I will fill you in on the details."

"For now, I should warn you that he doesn't speak; the doctor who examined him while we were in England said it was due to extreme psychological trauma and that he most likely will never speak. He also doesn't like to be touched and I don't yet fully know the reasons why but I believe it has something to do with the way his aunt and uncle ignored him on top of his experiences with the youkai. Other then that he is extremely shy, very well behaved, and a quick learner."

"Why don't we take your things upstairs and show Ryuu where he'll be staying," Shigeru suggested as he hefted the suitcase he'd taken from Kaname. "We can give him a quick tour of the house at the same time so he knows where everything is."

"While you boys are doing that, I'll finish supper," Touko stated as she rose gracefully from her crouch and started towards the house. "I picked up some fresh shrimp and squid for supper tonight. Do you think Ryuu-kun will eat fried shrimp and squid, Takashi-kun? I also made fresh taiyaki this afternoon to pass the time while we waited for you to get home."

"Hai," Takashi replied as he and a hesitant Ryuu followed the others into the house. "He's quite fond of seafood and especially loves sushi, shrimp, and taiyaki. He's been very good about trying new dishes so far and there are very few things he won't eat a second time; such as lamb and cooked spinach."

"I don't blame him," Kaname tossed back over his shoulder as he headed up the stairs behind Shigeru. "Cooked spinach tastes horrible. Especially when boiled. Though its not too bad if baked in a bun with cream cheese and pork and a little spinach adds flavor to an omelet."

"You remember when Sasada-chan made that spinach and pork pie?" Takashi asked as he steered Ryuu up the stairs. "I swear she botched the recipe on purpose just to get back at us for laughing at that sweater she tried knitting."

"Oh do I ever remember that pie! How could I forget?" Kaname groaned. "It had so much salt in it… and I swear she purposefully dropped garlic in with the ginger. My taste buds were dead for hours after taking one bite."

The two thirty-two year olds laughed even as they shuddered in remembrance as they entered Takashi's room upstairs and stacked the luggage in the corner. Ryuu looked around the room with nervous curiosity until his eyes fell on the shrine that Takashi had set up on his desk. The seven year old obviously remembered exactly what the shrine was supposed to do, since the moment he saw it he had tugged on Takashi's shirt before pointing to the shrine as he stared up with hope shining in his eyes.

"_Yes, Ryuu-kun, that shrine protects this house from the spirits just like the one I put in our hotel room. You have nothing to fear while you are in this house._"

Ryuu had then smiled as he let go of Takashi and bounded over to his backpack and dove inside until he came up with the small packet of peanuts he'd gotten during their flight over. When he had trouble opening the packet, he scampered back to Takashi's side and held out the snack as he gazed up at Takashi with pleading eyes. Takashi obliged him by opening the packet as request and then handed it back. Ryuu then walked up to the shrine and dug out several peanuts that he placed at the base of the shrine in a circle.

Once he was done, tucked the packet of left over peanuts into his pocket and returned to his backpack to grab his third notebook (the first two having already been filled up completely) and his favorite pencil. Takashi waited for him to collect his things before calling Ryuu back to his side so he could give him a small tour. Kaname and Shigeru tagged along, both men silently observing Takashi interacting with the small boy and noting Ryuu's various reactions.

The tour ended in the kitchen downstairs where Touko had set out five place settings at the table surrounded by several platters of fried shrimp, fried squid, steamed rice, steamed vegetables, and a large garden salad. Takashi guided Ryuu into the kitchen and told him to take a seat at the table before excusing himself under the guise of needing to use the bathroom. What he actually did was head up to his room to let Nyanko out of his suitcase and let him outside so the youkai could stretch his legs a bit after being in the trunk for over twenty-four hours now. He then slipped into the bathroom, flushed the toilet, and washed his hands before returning to the kitchen where he joined the others at the table, slipping into the seat beside Ryuu.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Hai – yes

**Names:**

Ryuu – boy's name meaning dragon (or imperial)

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Next chapter will show how Harry adjusts to his new home… For those of you wondering when I'll be posting the final chapter of Wizard's World; I'm about half way finished rewriting the chapter so hopefully it won't be more than a week or two at most before I'm reading to post it. ~ Jenn_

**08-07-12:**_ This chapter was once again edited to remove all references to laptops, e-mails, and the internet in order to keep the technological advances in the story a little more accurate._


	10. Culture Shock at its Finest

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 9: Culture Shock at its Finest<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>August 1987 – July 1988<em>

Ryuu's first year in Japan was, perhaps, the most difficult year. He'd only gotten a single week to get used to the Fujiwaras before Takashi's classes started once again. This probably wouldn't have been as big of deal if the elderly couple knew more than just a few words and a handful of phrases in English. Takashi had left them his grandmother's English to Japanese dictionary so they could translate Ryuu's written notes and Ryuu had the Japanese to English children's dictionary he'd purchased for the boy but that only helped so much.

When the day came for Ryuu to start his own classes at the local elementary school, Ryuu had refused to step foot out of the house and promptly vanished completely for the rest of the day until Takashi returned home. After a week of trying to coax the frightened child into attending classes, Takashi finally sat down and had a long discussion with the boy about the youkai. It had taken the entire weekend to get the full story from the distraught child. Once he'd learned the full extent of the torment Ryuu had endured at the hands of the youkai, which was far worse than anything Takashi had experienced in his youth, he'd approached Touko and Shigeru about hiring a tutor for Ryuu.

He felt it was far too soon to try and push the terrified child into facing his fears while he was still trying to adjust to his new home and thought allowing him a year to catch up to his peers and learn the language would go a long ways towards easing Ryuu's fears. In the end, Touko interviewed twelve different individuals for the position during the following week at Takashi's request. Out of those twelve people, three of them had the qualifications that Takashi had been looking for in a tutor and only one of them didn't frighten the boy into hiding.

That one person ended up being one of Takashi's friends (though Ryuu had not known that at the time), a young woman by the name of Tooru Taki who had just obtained a first class teaching certificate after earning her Bachelor's Degree. She'd also just passed the prefecture's examination which allowed her to apply to any of the elementary or junior high schools within the prefecture. Unfortunately, she'd not been able to find an opening in the area in which she wished to work and had been dreading the need to move away from Takashima Town just to get a job. That was why she had jumped at the chance to tutor Takashi's adopted son when she'd seen the advert in the newspaper.

On the evening of the day Taki was hired, Takashi sat down with her and gave her a summary of Ryuu's former life and his current difficulties; only leaving out any mention of Ryuu's magic. She'd not been too shocked to learn that Ryuu could also see the youkai, since the ability did sometimes run in families. On the other hand, Taki had been shocked, and more than a little horrified, to learn that the youkai had hunted and tormented the child to such extremes that the child stopped eating because of the fear, stopped speaking to avoid drawing their attention, and hid himself away in order to avoid the spirits. She could empathize with Ryuu's situation though due to her own traumatic experience with a rather nasty youkai that had sworn to kill her and those whose names she spoke over the course of one year.

From that point forward, Ryuu would spend eight hours a day Monday through Friday with Taki and another five hours on Saturdays. The initial subjects they focused on were; penmanship (since this was Ryuu's main form of communication), Japanese (both written and spoken), math, science, art, (because numbers, experimentation, and art needed no translations), and sign language (to give Ryuu an alternative method of communicating).

Like Takashi, Taki quickly discovered that Ryuu was far more intelligent than expected despite his lack of formal education. The fact that his above average intelligence was coupled with a strong desire to learn meant that Ryuu actually dove into his lessons with little to no fuss (so long as he was not asked to leave the house without Takashi). The days when Takashi didn't have classes, he'd often join Taki and Ryuu during their lessons; the three of them going on field trips to various museums, historical monuments, or other places of interest (Ryuu only willing to leave the house when Takashi was with him).

On those days the three of them would often run into Takashi's other friends and after a while Ryuu began relaxing in their presence as they frequently told the seven year old stories about Takashi. The only thing that worried Takashi about Ryuu's budding social skills was that the boy showed absolutely no interest in making friends with any children his own age. When he asked his son why, Ryuu had just shrugged and eventually wrote that he didn't want to be teased which led to the revelation that his cousin Dudley had sometimes taunted him and called him names.

Shortly after resolving the issue of Ryuu's education, a whole new problem cropped up when the seven year old discovered that Nyanko-sensei was a youkai in disguise; which had completely freaked him out. It had been right after one of his Saturday lessons with Taki; Takashi had just returned from the store and the cat had been following the thirty-two year old into the house complaining loudly about Takashi being stingy with the fried squid and sushi he'd purchased for lunch.

Ryuu, who'd been in the middle of practicing his times tables on a small chalkboard, had been so startled he lost his concentration and had scratched the chalkboard with the metal end of the chalk holder that created a high pitched screeching scratching sound that had everyone in the room clutch at their ears, including the cat. When Nyanko had started complaining about the pain in his sensitive ears, Ryuu's eyes had grown wider and he'd thrown the chalk and holder in his hands and pegged the disguised youkai between the eyes.

That, of course, had not improved Nyanko's temper and the cat had stalked towards Ryuu with the intent of telling him off only to end up being punted across the room when Ryuu had kicked him instinctively. The boy had then glared right at Takashi before he fled the room and vanished into whatever hiding spot the boy had found; no one had yet been able to figure out where the boy went when he vanished and they'd searched all of the cupboards and closets each time he disappeared.

Ryuu usually never hid for more than a few hours when he retreated to his hidden sanctuary but after learning the truth about Nyanko he vanished for an entire week. He didn't even come out for meals though they knew he was using the bathroom because they'd sometimes hear the toilet flush but by the time they reached the bathroom he'd be gone again. When he did finally stop hiding, he looked terrible with dark circles beneath haunted and bloodshot eyes, face gaunt with hollow cheeks, and his skin pale; it was easy to see that he'd spent the seven days getting little to no sleep on top of the fasting he'd done.

It had taken another week before Ryuu would even look at Takashi, let alone communicate with him. It would be another two months before he would stay in the same room with Nyanko and another month after that before he'd finally confronted Takashi about the not-cat (which is exactly what Ryuu had called Nyanko). Takashi had then explained how he hadn't wanted to frighten Ryuu in the beginning due to his experiences with the youkai and then later because he wanted him to get used to Nyanko's presence.

Takashi had also sworn that he had planned to tell him at some point, when he thought it would be less stressful, and there just never seemed to be a good time. He'd also told Ryuu that it was Nyanko that had chased away the spirits that had been haunting his aunt and uncle's house and helped keep them away each time they left the hotel in London. Ryuu was then formally introduced to Madara, upon his request, and the sheer size of the wolf spirit had practically overwhelmed the seven year old.

Only the fact that the powerful youkai had simply laid down on the floor with his head on his paws and watched Ryuu silently allowed the child to relax as he clung to Takashi's leg. After five minutes spent in another impromptu staring contest (much like the one that occurred when Ryuu had first met Madara in cat form) Ryuu had tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow as he slowly let go of Takashi's leg and stepped forward. He had then reached out and placed his hand on Madara's nose without breaking eye contact with the enormous spirit. When Madara closed his eyes at the touch, Ryuu moved a little closer and actually stroked the short fur of the wolf's snout for a moment before dropping his hand and walking out of the room.

That day marked a significant change in Ryuu's behavior as he slowly stopped hiding inside the house, going so far as to play outside in the yard after his lessons. When Takashi later asked him what had changed, Ryuu had given him a note saying that the not-cat's eyes weren't hungry. It had been Ryuu's first experience with a spirit that didn't involve pain or abject terror and while he still feared youkai in general he no longer panicked the moment he saw one passing by. He still wouldn't leave the yard unless Takashi was there with him but the adults in his life were still happy that he was making some progress in getting over his fears.

Ryuu's education was moving along in leaps and bounds as he gradually grew more comfortable with his surroundings. He excelled in math, sign language, and understanding spoken Japanese. His penmanship improved as well and he didn't have many problems with writing romaji but he struggled with kanji and kana as he had difficulty with those characters that were similar. His favorite lesson was without a doubt sign language because it allowed him to speak his mind without having to scribble down his words. Takashi, Touko, and Shigeru were also learning sign language so that they would have no problems understanding Ryuu though they rarely used the hand signs when talking with the seven year old.

The one subject Ryuu wanted nothing to do with (in the beginning) was music. He didn't mind listening to the radio or listening to other people playing instruments or singing but he absolutely refused to learn any instrument. When Taki had asked him what was so wrong with playing an instrument, he'd looked up at her with his haunted green eyes before shakily writing; _they will hear me_.

It wasn't until after he'd finally learned the truth about Nyanko-sensei that he finally showed any interest in learning how to play an instrument and that was only after he'd accidentally whistled a short note when he'd tried to silently copy a bird out in the garden; startling himself in the process. When he wasn't immediately swarmed by youkai, he'd tentatively repeated the sound deliberately and to his shock the bird, a young magpie that had stopped singing when he whistled the first time, chirped back at him.

Taki had been the one to stumble across the seven year old making chirping and whistling sounds to the bird in question and after listening to the bird and the boy mimicking each other for several minutes she snuck back into the house and brought Touko-san out to watch and listen. Shigeru and Takashi were each brought around to listen to the pair the moment they arrived home.

Takashi had opted not to confront Ryuu (or even let him know that all four of them had heard him) about his newfound skill, not wanting to push his cousin into burying the ability unconsciously. That turned out to be a wise decision as two days after that Ryuu had timidly approached Takashi and asked him if there was a musical instrument that sounded like a bird. That led to Ryuu receiving lessons on how to play the various traditional Japanese bamboo and reed flutes.

Towards the end of the first year, Ryuu finally met Natori Shuichi and by extension his youkai servant Hiiragi. It was a meeting that neither Ryuu nor Takashi would soon forget and one that Natori would have loved to be able to remember. Takashi and Ryuu had just finished lunch at a tea house when Natori had found them, the older man looking to enlist Takashi's help in sealing a particularly nasty demon that was haunting a warehouse. The famous actor had been caught off-guard by the presence of Ryuu, especially when Hiiragi had spotted Ryuu standing beside Takashi and she'd immediately reached out for the boy.

Ryuu reacted instinctively as he took in her masked face and the slightly glowing aura that surrounded her; he ducked out of her reach and darted behind Takashi. When Takashi's mere presence didn't deter the curious youkai, Ryuu bolted before either of the two men quite knew what was going on. Takashi let out a string of curses and ordered Natori to call Hiiragi to heel (something he'd never done before) as he took off after his panicking son. Hiiragi in the mean time was trying to corner the boy, intent on finding out why she was so drawn to him, which only served to make matters worse.

In the end it was Madara who 'saved' Ryuu as the powerful wolf spirit dropped down from the sky and whisked Ryuu away just when Hiiragi had nearly captured the runaway. Madara had then blasted Hiiragi head over heels in order to knock sense into her as Takashi and Natori finally caught up. The giant wolf was growling and glaring at both men and the female youkai as Ryuu desperately clung to his chest, his entire body trembling with suppressed sobs.

Takashi ignored the powerful youkai and rushed to Ryuu's side only to end up trapped beneath Madara's paw when the youkai interfered. That earned the wolf a punch on the nose which caused Madara to revert back into his cat form after which he promptly ended up being squeezed to death by the terrified Ryuu who was still clutching him tightly. Ryuu transferred his death grip to Takashi's neck the moment his adopted father picked him up, his face burrowing into Takashi's neck as the now unconscious Nyanko dropped like a rock (the poor youkai suffering from oxygen deprivation).

Hiiragi apologized profusely as she embarrassingly admitted that she'd been unable to help herself before she vanished when it became apparent that she still felt something within the child calling to her. Natori-san had been completely shocked as Hiiragi was usually one of his more reliable servants and that only served to spark his interest in Ryuu. The actor slash exorcist had stepped closer intending to ruffle Ryuu's hair as he too apologized on his servant's behalf when his youkai tattoo had rushed eagerly to the tip of the hand he'd stretched out towards Ryuu.

The small shadow-like gecko had then peeled itself from Natori's skin and jumped across the distance separating the actor from the young wizard. The moment it disappeared into Ryuu's hair, the seven year old had stiffened and jerked back away from Takashi with wide, terrified eyes as he brought his hands up to start tearing and scratching at his hair and then his face; his little hands unerringly following the path of the strange youkai tattoo as it traveled over his body.

Takashi nearly lost his hold on the frantic child and quickly dropped down onto his knees beside Ryuu trying to keep the boy from seriously hurting himself while at the same time trying to reassure him that he'd get the youkai off of him. Natori was far too stunned to be of any help and Madara was still out for the count from when Ryuu had unintentionally choked him into unconsciousness.

Ryuu's terror and rising stress levels soon triggered his first severe bout of accidental magic since he'd silenced himself four years earlier. The strange scar on the side of his head began to glow a soft gold color just before a shockwave of energy spiraled out from the seven year old. The moment the power touched the youkai that was trying to possess Ryuu it turned bright red and white hot as the gecko tattoo began smoking.

A heartbeat later the tiny youkai was ripped from the side of Ryuu's face and blasted across the small alley they were in where it smashed into the wall before dropping to the ground. Ryuu's magic then began retreating back into his body, the golden glow turning a soft yellow as it healed the scratches he'd torn into his face in his efforts to expel the youkai from his body.

Natori had finally shaken himself out of his stupor and staggered over to the youkai that had been a part of him for as long as he could remember. The moment he picked it up, it slowly sank into the skin of his hand and just laid there unmoving on the palm of his hand. It took him a moment to realize the tattoo was still smoking softly and had shrunk to a size that was less than half its former size.

The man had then turned to stare at Takashi and Ryuu as the boy passed out from magical and emotional exhaustion, his scar slowly fading away. Before the older man could demand to know what had just happened, two loud cracks echoed through the alley as two men appeared wearing full samurai regalia complete with drawn katana. Their armor was thin and lightweight compared to traditional samurai armor and mostly pitch black with both the hitatare and hakama beneath a dark bronze.

Barely a minute had passed before another two men appeared from out of thin air. The two new arrivals were both wearing the same dark bronze hakama as the first two without the armor with one wearing a black hitatare while the other was wearing a white and green hitatare. All four men were wizards with Japan's Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu; the first two to arrive were Samurai no Mahoujutsu (Japanese equivalent to the European Aurors with more of a military background than their counterparts), the man wearing the black hitatare was a Keikan no Mahoujutsu (a magical policemen), and the one wearing white and green was a healer assigned to the four man squad.

All four wizards had the crest of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu emblazoned on their backs; a white lotus in bloom with two crossed bronze swords beneath the flower with a red wand vertically bisecting the flower and its handle resting on the point where the two blades crossed just above their hilts. Takashi instinctively clutched Ryuu's unresponsive body close to him as the two samurai secured the alley before sheathing their swords while the magical policeman kept his wand pointed directly at Takashi, Natori, and Ryuu and the healer watched impassively from just behind the officer.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," the wizard in black and bronze ordered as he slowly approached the trio, his wand never wavering as he kept it pointed between the two adults. "A large, violent discharge of magic was registered in this area less than ten minutes ago by the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu and we are here to investigate the cause and the source. If either of you gentlemen know anything I would appreciate your complete cooperation."

"Magic?" Natori asked in disbelief as he glanced between the wand wielding officer, his hand, and the child cradled in Takashi's arms.

"Gomen nasai," Takashi automatically intoned without emotion as he refused to meet Natori's gaze. "My son was responsible for the accidental outburst; he had a severe panic attack."

"I see," the officer replied as he glanced down to study said child for a moment before signaling for the healer to step forward.

While the healer began casting diagnostic spells over the unconscious Ryuu, the officer quickly established Natori's identity as a non-magical citizen and after a carefully placed memory charm sent the actor on his way. Takashi watched him go regretfully, he felt bad that the man had needed to have his memory modified because of the encounter with his son. Takashi and Ryuu were then taken to the local branch of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu that was located within the Shiga prefecture.

Once at the station, Takashi was asked to repeat everything that had happened before, during, and after the accidental outburst of magic; including what had caused Ryuu's panic attack. Ryuu was also registered as a wizard of Shiga prefecture, his magical signature and magical index level recorded so that future bursts of accidental magic that Ryuu expended could be logged accordingly. Both the healer and the officer had blanched when they noted Ryuu's magical index at eighty-eight after overhearing Takashi's offhand comment about the child's level having risen four full levels since his previous medical exam around a year earlier.

When the magical policeman learned that Ryuu was adopted he asked to see a copy of Ryuu's birth and adoption certificates because their office should have been notified when the adoption took place. That of course led to the revelation that Ryuu had been born outside of the country. The moment Ryuu's birth name was mentioned, the entire office was up in arms as they'd had no advance warning that Harry Potter would be settling within the prefecture of Shiga. Takashi tiredly informed the awed and intimidated officer that Supreme Mugwump Dumbledore was supposed to have contacted the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu in order to make certain that Ryuu's paperwork was filed with the appropriate offices.

Throwing around Dumbledore's name only seemed to make the poor officer even more frantic; apparently the ancient wizard was just as famous in Japan as he was in England as was poor Ryuu (through his position as the Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W. and his defeat of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald). Several officials from the main offices of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu in Tokyo as well as the headmaster of the Japanese Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu located on Hokkaido Island turned up to interview both Takashi and Ryuu (whom they insisted on calling Harry Potter).

It was about the time that Headmaster Yamamoto began making plans for Harry to be enrolled at the Japanese School of Sorcery that Takashi had to burst the man's bubble. One Natsume Ryuu (formerly Harry Potter) was already enrolled at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and due to start in four years time after Ryuu turned eleven. The wizard had looked so heartbroken that Takashi started feeling slightly bad for the his bluntness; until Ryuu woke up and nearly ended up having another panic attack due to the number of official looking strangers that were surrounding him.

By the time father and son had returned home, well past supper time, they'd been wrung out from dealing with bureaucrats, negotiating a summer training course contract with Headmaster Yamamoto (to start the summer before Ryuu's tenth birthday under the provision they never used his birth name), applying for permission to inform a small handful of individuals about Ryuu's magical heritage, and collecting an extensive 'muggleborn' packet that held everything Takashi would need to know about the hidden magical world as it applied to Japan.

Ryuu had nearly disappeared the moment they walked in the door when Touko-san had appeared and gone into one of her patented 'how dare you worry me' tirades. Instead, he'd gotten halfway across the room before he froze and scampered right back to Takashi's side when it became apparent that they had guests. Taki had obviously come by for Ryuu's afternoon lessons and had stayed to provide moral support for Touko when it became apparent that Takashi and Ryuu were running late. Kaname had arrived with Taki, planning on hanging out with Takashi while Taki was tutoring Ryuu.

Natori had come by looking for Takashi since he still wanted to know if the younger man would give him a hand with a sealing a troublesome demon and he'd stuck around because his memories of the afternoon were skewed and he could have sworn he'd met Takashi just outside the tea house while everything after that was nothing a big blur or a complete blank. Hiiragi also remembered far more than Natori and the discrepancy was disturbing both of them (though she knew nothing of the incident involving the youkai tattoo).

It had been the moment that Ryuu had seen Natori sitting on the couch with Hiiragi hovering behind him that he'd frozen in sheer terror before he'd backtracked to Takashi's side. He remembered the creepy mask wearing youkai chasing him as well as the creepy feeling of a youkai crawling over his skin. If Ryuu had been able to make a sound, he'd have been whimpering in fear as he cowered behind Takashi.

Sighing, Takashi gathered his son into his arms, apologized to everyone (several times), and then disappeared upstairs with Ryuu to draw the kid a bath in order to help him relax enough to go to bed. They were met at the top of the stairs by an irate Nyanko-sensei who was more than a touch upset over having been left (unconscious) in the middle of the alley.

After he sent Ryuu to bed, Takashi had returned downstairs for the interrogation he had known was waiting for him. He'd then spent several hours revealing everything he'd previously left unsaid about Ryuu's heritage from his biological parents. The revelation that magic existed wasn't really much of a shock to those gathered in the Fujiwara's home that evening; the concept of magic was after all a part of their culture.

What was surprising to the adults was the presence of a hidden world-wide society of magic users that basically had their own governments, laws, and schools. Natori had been a little upset when he learned that his memory had been altered earlier that afternoon but he grudgingly accepted that it had been done to protect that hidden society and in a way Ryuu's heritage from discovery.

By the time Ryuu's eighth birthday rolled around just a few months after the incident in the alley and the Natsumes' subsequent immersion into the Japanese Magical Society, things had once again settled down in the Fujiwara household. Ryuu had continued to make leaps and bounds in his tutoring sessions, nearly catching up to his peers in all but history (which he hadn't studied much aside from major events) and writing composition (in Japanese). He was nearly two grade levels above his peers in math and about half a grade level above them in science (it would have been more if not for the fact that he still sometimes struggled with deciphering written instructions).

The subject he'd shown the most improvement in over the shortest amount of time was music; the flute had in a way become Ryuu's voice. The two types of flutes he favored most were the shakuhachi (an end blown flute favored by monks) and the shinobue (a traverse flute). Ryuu would often spend his free time sitting outside 'chirping' and 'singing' with the starlings and magpies that gradually began flocking to their yard in higher numbers out of curiosity and for the seeds that Ryuu inevitably set out for them.

Occasionally a few sparrows or finches would also make an appearance but the magpies often chased the smaller birds out of the yard. The way he managed to mimic the birds call, in both tone and pitch, was almost magical in that it allowed him to sit in the middle of a mixed flock of the various songbirds without making the birds scatter each time he moved because they considered him just another bird.

For Ryuu's eighth birthday, he was given a pair of ocarina (a ceramic transverse ocarina with ten finger holes and a wooden multi-chambered ocarina) from the Fujiwaras, a western concert flute from Taki, a protection pendant strung on a leather cord and a book on drawing protective barriers (wards) from Natori, a medium sized box of assorted Japanese sweets and snacks from Kaname, Kitamoto, and Nishimura, and a voucher for martial arts lessons (more of a written promise since Takashi wasn't going to sign him up unless he was willing to attend the classes), a book of Japanese fairy tails, and a stuffed dragon from Takashi.

Like on his seventh birthday, which Takashi and Ryuu had celebrated in London, Ryuu was completely overwhelmed by the gifts, the small party, and the general fuss that was made over him just because it was his birthday.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Anone – excuse me  
>Hitatare – a short jacket type garment<br>Hakama – traditional Japanese clothing, usually worn over a kimono; can be divided or undivided

Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu – Magical Magistrate (Derived from Bugyou Tokoro meaning Magistrate's Office and Mahoujutsu meaning magical arts – correction courtesy of Junpaku Karasu back on 07/23/12).  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu – Vocational School of Sorcery (From jujutsu meaning sorcery and kakushugakkou meaning vocational school)<br>Keikan no Mahoujutsu – magical policeman  
>Keikantai no Mahoujutsu – magical police force<br>Samurai no Mahoujutsu – Magical warrior (a samurai is a Japanese warrior).

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _This chapter gave me a few fits as there was so much I needed to convey and I'm still not certain I'm completely happy with it but it is much better than it was when I first wrote it. I tried to portray the Japanese Ministry as being completely different than the English Ministry in how they handled things like accidental magic and I hope that came across. _

_I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has left a review or added this story to their alert/favorites list. ~ Jenn_

**09-01-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas as well as breaking a few paragraphs down so as to improve readability._


	11. Time Stands Still for No Man

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 10: Time Stands Still for No Man<span>

_Takashima Elementary School  
>Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan<br>02:45 P.M. Friday June 29, 1990 _

An almost ten year old Natsume Ryuu piped a happy tune on his multi-chambered ocarina that Touko-baasan and Shigeru-jiisan had given him two years earlier, his green eyes sparkling as he skipped through the gates of the elementary school he'd been attending for the past two years. Those two years had been filled with frustration and hard work for Ryuu and he was quite happy to have them well and truly over with. As he skipped passed his fellow students he ignored the dirty and jealous looks directed his way; looks he'd grown used to over the two years he'd been attending classes.

Despite starting two years after the majority of his peers, Ryuu had worked his way through six years worth of classes in a total of three years; one year spent in private tutoring and two years in the public school system in addition to continuing his private tutoring after school. It wasn't that Ryuu was a genius; he worked hard to skip two grades and climb his way into the number seventh spot school wide. However, his peers never saw the effort he put into his studies; they only saw him breezing through the courses in record time and it was something the other students had greatly resented.

Ryuu's incentive for pushing himself so hard was the burning need to get away from the other children. He had made no friends his age during his two years at the school and had in fact been bullied constantly during the first four months of his first year until the other children finally grew bored over his lack of response. Word of the classes he was taking at the local dojo every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday helped in that regard as well.

A lack of friends didn't really bother Ryuu though, since it meant no one was asking him uncomfortable questions, pushing into his personal space, or cutting into his study time after school. The only ones that really worried over his lack of friends his own age were Takashi and Touko; Takashi because of the unpleasant memories of his lonely childhood and Touko because worrying was what she did best.

That's not to say Ryuu never socialized, because he did. He grew very close to Taki through the three years she'd been his private tutor and he frequently went to her for comfort when Takashi wasn't available. Kaname was another one of Takashi's friends that Ryuu enjoyed spending time with; not only did the ten year old share a fondness for Touko's cooking with the other man but Ryuu felt a kinship with him because he sensed the youkai that still flocked to Ryuu. And while Taki couldn't actively see or hear the youkai she could see and interact with them if they stepped into a specially drawn circle that her grandfather had recreated through extensive research.

That kind of connection didn't exist with Natori despite the fact that the older man also saw the youkai. Ryuu continued to do his best to avoid the actor slash exorcist and his various youkai servants. Takashi couldn't blame his son for being uncomfortable around Natori because of what had happened when they'd first met but he did wish Ryuu would give the older man another chance. If only because of the fact that Takashi looked up at Natori as an older brother; the man having taught Takashi much over the years and treated him as an equal after they'd gotten to know each other. It wasn't actually Natori that Ryuu was leery of anyway but the youkai that always followed him; especially the small tattoo-like gecko youkai that shared some kind of symbiotic relationship with the man. (A youkai that still hadn't completely recovered from the shock of Ryuu's magic forcefully ejecting it from his body.)

Ryuu stopped playing the small flute as soon as he reached Taki (who'd been waiting just outside the gate for Ryuu) and tucked his ocarina into his pocket so he could sign a quick hello to Taki. While most of his peers would have been mortified if their parents or guardians had come to the school to pick them up at age ten; Ryuu looked forward to seeing whoever picked him up each day.

He really preferred not to walk home alone because having someone with him made it easier for him to deal with the constant presence of the youkai that followed him whenever he stepped outside of the house. He was no longer as terrified of the various spirits that were drawn to him but that didn't mean he liked them hovering around him all of the time and he definitely had no desire to be touched by any of the beings.

As they walked, Ryuu kept up a constant string of hand signs as he told Taki about his last day of classes in reply to her verbal questions. Their conversation was interrupted by the untimely arrival of Nyanko-sensei darting out from behind a parked car with a purloined bag of yeast buns clasped in his mouth. Taki tripped over the escaping cat and crashed into a pair of trash cans while Ryuu danced gracefully back out of the way of both cat and flying trash. The ten year old then scooped the disguised youkai up from the ground to prevent him from running off to cause more mischief as Takashi skidded around the corner in pursuit of said cat. The thirty-five year old growled as he took in the spilled garbage, a floundering Taki, and the struggling Nyanko in Ryuu's arms.

"Sensei," Takashi hissed in a tone that spelled certain death for said cat as he reached out to help Taki to her feet.

_He tricked you again?_ Ryuu signed to his father with one hand and a grin twitching at the corner of his lips as he deftly held Nyanko against his chest with the other.

"As if you need to ask," Takashi countered with a huff as he plucked the bag out of Nyanko's mouth.

"Hey! Give those back, baka! I stole those fair and square," Nyanko protested as he wiggled all four feet in an effort to escape Ryuu's grasp and take back his stolen treats.

"If you don't behave I'll tell Touko-san that due to your advanced age the vet recommended that she stop feeding you table scraps," Takashi threatened. Nyanko started cussing and calling Takashi names which Takashi ignored as he turned his attention to Ryuu. "Congratulations on graduating. I picked up some yeast buns to celebrate but I'm not certain if they survived the walking garbage disposal's antics. How was your last day of class?"

_Arigatou, tousan_, Ryuu signed back with a grin as he dropped the struggling cat so he could reply as they all started heading home once more. _Classes were boring, all of the teachers were giving the same boring speech about not forgetting everything we learned during the year and how when we enter junior high next year we'll have to work even harder. _

"The teachers gave the same speeches when we were in school," Takashi commiserated as he ruffled Ryuu's hair. "So… grades for the year?"

_Seven A's and one B; which dropped my GPA from a solid four point oh to a three point nine_, Ryuu replied with a small frown. _Hasegawa-sensei marked me down a full grade because of a 'lack of teamwork' for the social studies group project we were required to do; she'd marked our entire group down half a grade on that presentation because the other three students hadn't wanted me to be in their group. I still ranked number seven over all in the school though this year; that's two places higher than at the end of last year but one place lower than I was at the end of the first term this year._

"I spoke with Hasegawa-sensei about that a couple of weeks ago," Takashi revealed as he felt a pang of sadness over the reminder that Ryuu still hadn't made any friends in any of his classes. "She had been concerned because you don't really socialize with your classmates. The entire point of the project was to cultivate teamwork; all four of you failed to work together. And while the other three students' attitudes might have been at the root of the problem, the fact that you only made half an effort to work with them in return hadn't helped."

_I did try_, Ryuu countered with a slight pout. _It was like ramming my head against a brick wall. Can't I just go back to tutoring full time?_

"We've already discussed that," Takashi reminded Ryuu with no little exasperation as the four of them walked in through the front door. "You need to get used to spending time around other people; you can't spend the rest of your life hiding away from everyone."

Ryuu rolled his eyes at the familiar counter-argument and headed upstairs to his room to put away his school things. He then picked up the case that held the various flutes he'd collected over the past three years and his binder full of sheet music before returning downstairs for his daily music lessons with Taki. He'd been practicing Brahms' Waltz for the past few weeks and if he could make it through the entire score without any mistakes Taki had promised him he could start working on Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee. In addition to the western pieces he was (or would be) learning he was also working on a traditional Japanese piece titled Sōran Bushi, a sea shanty that is often played during the Bon Festival.

He'd just begun running through the scales on his shakuhachi to warm up when there was a knock at the door. Taki signaled for him to keep going when he'd automatically turned to face the direction of the front door and he paused just long enough to nod compliance before he continued practicing. When voices started filtering into their practice room as someone approached, Ryuu closed his eyes in order to better concentrate on the rising and falling notes he was coaxing from the bamboo flute.

The moment he finished the twentieth repetition of his warm up exercises he launched right into the Sōran Bushi, only pausing long enough to take a quick breath. As the first notes issued forth, Ryuu slowly began swaying as he played; completely lost to everything but the music as his fingers lifted and dropped gracefully with each new note.

When the final note of the song finally faded out of existence, Ryuu lowered the flute just enough to take a couple of breaths before bringing it back up to his mouth as he prepared to start on another piece he'd learned earlier in the year only to pause when he heard his name called. Slowly opening his eyes, Ryuu blinked a couple of times as he lowered the flute to his side and turned to face the door where Takashi was standing with a man Ryuu only vaguely remembered.

"Ryuu-kun, you remember Headmaster Yamamoto; don't you?" Takashi half inquired and half introduced.

"I apologize for interrupting your lessons," Headmaster Yamamoto intoned as he bowed slightly in Ryuu's direction. "Had I known you would be otherwise occupied I would have timed my visit accordingly. This afternoon, however, I found myself with a clear schedule quite unexpectedly and had thought there was no better time for me to meet with you and your father in order to finalize your enrollment in Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu."

Ryuu's eyes widened as he stared at the man in shock and clutched his flute tightly, his mind skittering off in a hundred different directions as he tried not to give into the growing panic he felt. Finally, after nearly two full minutes, he tore his eyes away from the stranger he vaguely recalled meeting two years earlier, set his shakuhachi across the music stand that held his sheet music, and began rapidly signing to his father.

_What does he mean, tousan? I thought I wasn't supposed to start my magical training until after I turned eleven and that we were going to be going to Scotland. What about when classes start again at the end of August? What about my lessons at the dojo? What about my lessons with Taki? Do I have to go? Can't it wait another year?_

"Peace, Natsume-kun," Headmaster Yamamoto softly instructed, making Ryuu start a bit as he hadn't expected the older man to understand sign language. "Your magical lessons will not completely interfere with your other classes and lessons during the normal school year."

"Why don't we move into the kitchen and discuss this over a cup of tea," Taki suggested as she began putting away her copies of the sheet music that she'd been using to follow Ryuu's progress as he played.

Ryuu was the last one to arrive in the kitchen, having taken his time putting away his instruments and music. He'd taken one look at Headmaster Yamamoto before heading to the cabinet and taking down five tea cups that he set on the table. He then grabbed a small platter and arranged an assortment of the cookies that Touko-baasan had baked earlier that week on the large plate before setting it in the center of the table.

By that time, Taki had finished making the tea and began serving everyone; the young woman easily falling into the role as hostess while Touko was absent. If the headmaster thought it strange that Ryuu took the extra cup of tea and set it on the floor along with a couple of cookies he didn't show it.

"Now, I believe you were expressing your concerns about enrolling in our school of sorcery," Headmaster Yamamoto mused over the top of his tea as he fixed his dark eyes on Ryuu. Ryuu nodded tentatively as he nibbled on a shortbread cookie. "First; you have not been signed up for what we call standard sessions. While we would more than love to have you attend Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu for your seven year education; your father informed me that you have already been enrolled at Hogwarts underneath Dumbledore-senpai. You have, instead, been signed up for five years of summer session, each session running eight weeks."

_I have summer lessons at the dojo._

"May I ask which branch of martial arts you are studying? How long you have been taking classes? And what level you are currently at? We provide instruction in several different branches of martial arts classes for all of our students since meditation and self control are essential when it comes to harnessing the natural energies of one's spirit."

_I have been studying aikido for two years, Yamamoto-sensei. I am still just a white belt as Takahashi-sensei won't allow me to take the test to obtain my black belt until I am sixteen._ Ryuu signed respectfully, his earlier panic fading completely as the idea of new lessons sparked his interest.

"A wise choice of styles considering your age and physical stature," Yamamoto mused as he eyed Ryuu critically. "I would recommend expanding those lessons to include both hapkido and ju jitsu styles as well since aikido draws techniques from both branches. The Tokimune branch of Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu could easily be integrated with what he has already learned while hapkido is a derivative of the Daito-ryu that includes kicks, punches, and several traditional weapons. A hanbo would be an ideal weapon for Natsume-kun's current size and weight; allowing him to extend his otherwise rather limited reach while not overwhelming him with a staff that is too long for him."

"I'm not certain I'd be comfortable with the idea of Ryuu-kun learning to use weapons," Takashi interjected softly. "On the other hand, knowing what I do about what awaits him in Great Britain it would be best if he could defend himself without placing himself within reach of an opponent. Although, one stipulation I have is no swords until he is at least fifteen and can handle a hanbo, bo, or jo competently."

_Takahashi-sensei was going to start our class on the bokken this summer_, Ryuu reminded his father. The ten year old then turned to address the headmaster once more. _How would I explain my absences during the summer to my sensei? I have not missed a single class in two years and he is already expecting me to continue attending lessons three days a week._

"Summer classes run Monday through Thursday, allowing the students Friday, Saturday, and Sundays to visit with their families and catch up on any assignments they did not complete during the week," Yamamoto explained.

"If the summer sessions only run thirty-two days, how do you expect the students to progress during their studies?" Taki asked curiously as she refreshed everyone's tea.

"The courses we focus on during the summer do not include the core classes that make up the curriculum of a standard school term with the exception of history which falls under Cultural Studies. Summer sessions focus more on the skills that help a young witch or wizard better control their magic; skills such as meditation, coordination, penmanship, pronunciation, familiarization with the magical society, and many other useful skills."

"These are all skills that a child usually learns growing up if one or both of their parents are of magical decent and as such usually forgo sending their children to the academy for summer courses. On the other hand, those who come from non-magical families are required to attend a minimum of three summer sessions in order to help them catch up with their peers. We also offer accelerated courses for various subjects that a student may or may not have the time to take during the course of the year."

Yamamoto paused a moment to take a sip his tea to wet his throat before he continued, "During the summer session the student's day starts at five-thirty in the morning and ends at nine-thirty, leaving them a full eight hours to rest. The duration of each class varies depending on which skill the class is focusing on; for example, Natsume-kun's schedule for this summer has been tentatively arranged so that he is in the dojo from six in the morning until seven-thirty, he then has a half hour to shower and change into his uniform before breakfast which starts at eight and ends at eight forty-five."

"From nine to nine-fifty he will have calligraphy (which teaches students to write with brushes, feather and reed quills, styluses, and at the higher levels chisels). He will then have ten minutes to get to his next class which is Cultural Studies (an introduction into wizarding society) and runs from ten o'clock to eleven-fifty. Lunch is from twelve to twelve-forty-five and directly after lunch is a fifty minute study period which allows students to start on their morning assignments."

"At two o'clock Natsume-kun would then attend Introductory Spell Casting (a class that teaches basic wand movements, spell terminology, and introductory theory) which is another double class or an hour and fifty minutes of instruction. He would have another fifty minute study period afterwards in order to allow his magical core to rest before attending an elective of his choice (a few of which include music, art, sports, foreign languages, Introductory Runes, and Introductory Arithmancy). Supper runs from six p.m. to six forty-five.

"All students then have from seven until eight thirty to finish their assignments for the day. At eight-thirty students are expected to prepare for bed and spend anywhere from thirty to forty-five minutes in meditation or until nine-thirty which is lights out. Meditation techniques are taught to the students in both the martial arts lessons and in Cultural Studies."

"Would he be taking those same classes for all five of the summer sessions he has been signed up?" Takashi asked curiously.

"Not necessarily," Yamamoto replied. "Each class has five basic levels; introductory, beginning, intermediate, advanced, and mastery. All students are required to complete the first three levels in the required summer courses by their fifth year of standard sessions. There have been cases where students have repeated one course or another two or three summers in a row if they struggle with that course but that is a very rare occurrence; just as it is rare for a student to go beyond the advanced levels in a given course. Meaning the average summer student takes four years of summer courses before opting out of the summer program."

_What if a student wished to take more than one elective?_ Ryuu asked after making certain his father didn't have another question at the moment.

"First time summer students are only allowed a single elective. However, starting from the second session onward, students have the option of taking up to three electives if they pass all of the required introductory courses. They are also given the option of dropping a single study period in favor of taking another elective if they have proven their ability to manage their time responsibly and turn in all of their assignments on time."

Another hour was spent discussing Ryuu's upcoming summer classes, rearranging his previous summer schedule, and making arrangements to purchase the supplies Ryuu would need for his classes. Takashi and Yamamoto also discussed ways to insure that Ryuu would have some form of protection from potential attacks. This was doubly important because of the fact that Ryuu was virtually a mute, though he did know how to whistle and ninety percent of the time he carried his ocarina on him at all times.

The youkai were mentioned as well, since they were currently the biggest threat to Ryuu; something that Takashi had not revealed when he'd first met the headmaster two years earlier. Permission was granted for Ryuu to bring a pet to the school, in this case it was recommended that he either purchase an owl (which were well known to sense the presence of youkai) or a kneazle (a magical breed of cat which was also able to sense youkai).

Taki had suggested that Ryuu take Nyanko-sensei but the taciturn youkai in disguise had nixed that idea in the bud while at the same time shocking Yamamoto with his ability to speak. Nyanko's reasoning was that he could not watch over both Ryuu and Takashi if they were thousands of miles apart and while he claimed he tolerated the kid (meaning he adored the boy, slept in his room, and begged for scraps from him) he had an obligation to watch over Takashi since he was the older Natsume's bodyguard.

Takashi and Nyanko then contemplated contracting another youkai to watch over Ryuu but Ryuu balked at the idea since most youkai seemed to lose control of themselves around him. Nyanko then pointed out that Ryuu would need to get used to dealing with the youkai to a certain degree because Takashi would not be able to be by his side all the time. That was, after all, one of the reasons Takashi had signed Ryuu up for martial art lessons; so he could learn to defend himself from the youkai that still hunted him. In the end, they decided to see what kind of kneazles and owls were available before making a decision.

As Ryuu lay in bed later that night he reflected on how quickly things had changed for him over the course of a single day. Instead of spending ninety percent of his summer preparing for his first day of Junior High School he would be attending a magical school and attending tutoring for his regular classes on the side. Monday through Thursday evenings he'd be living on the school grounds in the mountains of Hokkaido Island. He'd return home on Thursday evenings just before supper every week provided he hadn't earned a detention and spend Friday and Saturday mornings preparing for his fall classes leaving him Friday and Saturday afternoons to continue his aikido lessons at the local dojo. Sundays he would either have the day off or he would spend the day finishing up any assignments he hadn't already completed for the week.

He'd taken the headmaster's suggestions and signed up for both hapkido and Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu. Something that was possible because he had a firm grounding in the aikido basics (which incorporated techniques from both hapkido and ju jitsu) and he could attend alternating lessons so that he ended up having two days of instruction in each branch. If taking both classes at the same time became too much for him he could always drop one of them and pick it back up another summer.

For his elective, Ryuu had chosen to take music since it would give him one less class to worry about over the weekends aside from an hour or two of practice each weekend so Taki could still monitor his progress. Since he was already playing his chosen instrument at an intermediate level he'd be testing into one of the higher music courses instead of being placed in the introductory course with those who had never played an instrument before or those that were still just learning.

Finally, Ryuu would be required to attend special lessons in place of his early afternoon study period to guide him through silent spell casting. Normally, silent casting wasn't taught until a wizard's sixth year of formal study when their magical core was approaching maturity because it required a higher level of control over one's own magic that one only achieves with years of practice. Due to the permanent silencing spell on Ryuu's vocal cords he was going to need to gain that level of control quickly or he'd forever lag behind his peers. That was one of the reasons that Ryuu was starting summer sessions a year earlier than most young magicals; to give him the skills he would need to survive seven years of formal education.

As he finally drifted off to sleep, Ryuu worried about the fact that come Monday morning, he would be spending four days and three nights a week away from the man who had taken him in and given him both a family and hope.

* * *

><p><em>Ōtsu (capital), Shiga, Japan<br>09:25 A.M. Saturday June 30, 1990 _

Ryuu followed his father into the magical pet store located in District Seven, the magical shopping center located in Shiga prefecture. He glanced up at Nyanko-sensei perched on his father's shoulder as the disguised youkai rumbled in discontent as the cat caught sight of the various cats and kittens on display in the store. Nyanko had made his displeasure at the idea of a magical cat joining the family known from the moment that particular breed had been suggested as a familiar. Ryuu didn't particularly care if he ended up with a cat or a bird since both would remind him of home; the cats because of Nyanko's earthly vessel and the birds because of the flocks that Ryuu had somewhat tamed over the last couple of years.

Smiling impishly, Ryuu moved closer to the large cages containing various breeds of kneazles in order to tease the guardian youkai. All thoughts of pranking Nyanko fled when he genuinely began examining the various kittens that swarmed the edge of the cage closest to him the moment they noticed him standing there. There were kneazles that resembled Japanese Bobtails, Oriental Short and Long Hairs, Russian Peterbalds and Blues, Korats and Siamese from Thailand, and a couple of other breeds from Egypt and Europe.

They came in a wide assortment of colors and patterns as well, each kitten unique even amongst kittens of the same breed and color; the only common trait they shared being the black tuft of fur at the tip of their tails much like a lion's (except in those breed that had shortened or cropped tails). There was one Korat male that was a solid charcoal gray with bright yellow green eyes that were more green than yellow that Ryuu thought was rather adorable; the kitten in question pawing at his fingers through the cage as Ryuu teased him.

Before he could decide on whether or not he really wanted to get a cat, Ryuu was called over to where the store kept a wide range of native and non-native owls by his father. Sighing softly with something akin to regret, Ryuu dutifully joined his father in looking over the owls. There were close to thirty different types of owls at first glance, more than a few of them from the same family and at least five of them that Ryuu knew were listed on the endangered species lists such as the Blakiston's Fish Owl and the Spotted Owls he saw in the higher cages. Ryuu stared at a pair of juvenile Fish Owls as he listened to his father discussing various breeds of owls that could be used for long distance and international correspondence.

Wandering closer, he found his attention drawn to another juvenile owl, this one an Ural Owl. Ural Owls were native to Japan and in the same genus as the Great Grey Owl and the Tawny Owl. Urals are mainly white in color with brown-gray streaks, small black eyes, and like all of the owls in the genus strix have the twin facial disks that give the impression the owl has a flat face. As Ryuu watched the young owl, the bird turned to look directly at him and yapped out a soft 'wau-wau' as it tilted its head sideways and leaned closer to inspect Ryuu in turn. Unconsciously, Ryuu reached into his pocket and pulled out the ceramic ocarina that he carried with him out of habit and brought it up to his lips as he attempted to mimic the owl's call.

Unnoticed by the ten year old, all of the animals in the store fell eerily silent as he began 'speaking' back and forth with the young Ural; the owl switching between the first 'wau-wau' call and a longer 'wo-ho… woho uhwo-ho' call. The longer they exchanged calls the more excited the young owl became until it began trying to break free of the cage that held it captive. Ryuu abruptly stopped playing when the proprietor of the store stepped in front of him blocking off his view of the overexcited owl. Blinking at the unexpected interruption, Ryuu turned to his father with a questioning look.

"Did you wish to take that particular owl for your pet?" Takashi asked in response.

Ryuu started to nod yes in reply when a sharp yowl of protest came from the front of the store where the kittens were housed. He took two steps back towards the kittens, the memory of the charcoal gray with bright greenish yellow eyes tickling his senses. He froze in mid-step when the Ural juvenile voiced its own protest and Ryuu began glancing between the two cages as he felt torn between the two creatures. Finally, he looked back up at his father with uncertainty as he timidly signed; _How am I supposed to pick between them if they are both begging me?_

"Most unusual," the proprietor intoned, drawing the attention of both father and son as the man glanced between Ryuu, the kitten that was now clinging to the top of the wire cage and pawing at the air in Ryuu's direction, and the still flustered juvenile owl. "It is very rare for an untrained wizard to form a familiar bond with a single animal let alone two animals whose natural instincts will be in direct conflict with each other… and in such a short span of time."

"Familiar bond?" Takashi inquired uncertainly as he too glanced between the two animals and his son. "What exactly does that mean and how does it apply to my son?"

"Familiar bonds are the connections that form between a wizard (or witch) and the animal that best represents the wizard's magic or as some believe the wizard's soul. Usually a bond between a wizard and his chosen familiar will occur when the wizard's magic matures or over a span of years if the wizard and pet spend more than eighty percent of their time in each other's presence."

"A wizard's magical index plays a large part in the forming of the bond as the higher the index the stronger the bond (though there have been cases where a known squib has developed an exceptionally strong bond with his or her familiar out of necessity). There has also been speculation that a wizard with an index level over eighty has the potential to form a familiar bond with multiple animals or in some cases with exceptionally powerful magical creatures, such as phoenixes or unicorns, with just a glance…"

As the man trailed off, Takashi stiffened because he was well aware that Ryuu's magical index was last logged at eighty-eight; something that he didn't think should be bantered about in a pet store. In fact, based upon what he'd learned from Dumbledore, Yamamoto, and various magical texts; it was better to let people believe Ryuu's magical index was fifteen or twenty points lower than it actually was in order to protect the boy. It wasn't a big deal for various officials, health practitioners, and school staff members to be aware of the boy's true levels but the general public tended to fear those with indexes over seventy-six and often labeled them as dark wizards or witches because they feared their power.

"What happens if a wizard ignores the newly formed familiar bond," Takashi asked in an effort to draw the man's attention away from Ryuu's currently undisclosed magical index.

"Nothing happens to the wizard though he might feel a sense of emptiness, as if he was missing something," the man replied as he focused fully on Takashi. "The creature on the other hand descends into depression and often loses the will to live because of the rejection; but that's only if a true familiar bond has been initiated between the animal and the wizard."

"So, basically, you're telling me that if my son only takes one of the animals he's apparently formed a bond with the one left behind will die because it wasn't picked?" Takashi asked incredulously. "Are you certain you're not just pulling my leg in order to make a double sale?"

"It might seem that way at first glance," the man admitted with a soft sigh. "However, that isn't the case. I rarely ever sell multiple animals to a single wizard unless they are a breeding pair because most familiar bonds develop over several years and require a considerable effort on the part of the wizard. If a wizard has more than one pet than he will be forced to divide his attention between each of the animals and will most likely never form a familiar bond."

"Not a big deal when it comes to postal owls since they are trained as service animals from the day they grow their first flight feathers. However, for true familiars the lack of a proper bond actually shortens their life span; a familiar bond being a magical link between the wizard and the familiar which links the animal's lifespan with that of its wizard."

"You mentioned something about a potential conflict? What exactly does that mean in relation to the familiar bond and will it cause problems if we take both the owl and the cat?"

"Well, owls and cats are both considered the top of their food chains and often see each other as a threat or as a potential meal. They are both highly intelligent animals, both extremely independent, both of them are nocturnal by nature, and both have the potential to be aggressive and territorial; especially the males and brooding females of both species. It basically means that they will be in direct competition for your son's affections."

"The only differences between the two, besides the obvious feathers versus fur, are that cats are associated with earth and shadow magic and owls are associated with wind (sometimes referred to as air) and light based magics. There is a slim chance that you won't have any problems though because both critters in question are still juveniles and can be trained to tolerate each other."

_Tousan?_ Ryuu signed questioningly with troubled eyes the moment Takashi glanced back down at him. _How do I choose knowing one of them could potentially die because of me? Is there a way to tell if the bond has formed?_

"My son has an excellent question," Takashi stated slowly. "Is there a way to find out if a familiar bond has formed between my son and the two animals? I would really prefer that my son only has one animal for which he is responsible but at the same time I don't feel comfortable with the idea of condemning one of the animals to death."

"Absolutely," the clerk replied as he pulled out his wand and twirled it in a small spiral above his head as he cast a single spell; a minute later a thin gold thread sprang into being between the proprietor and an elderly cat that was lounging on the counter near the cash register. "As you can see I am bonded to old Rufus there; he's been my familiar for nigh unto fifty years now; the paler the color of the thread the stronger the bond with new bonds typically starting out as a dark bronze or medium copper in color. Give me a moment and I will cast the spell again over your son and we'll be able to verify whether he's formed a bond with one or both animals."

As soon as the spell was cast over Ryuu, a gold thread shimmered into existence and promptly split itself into three parts; a dark gold thread connecting him to the Korat kitten, a medium gold thread connecting him to the Ural juvenile, and a thicker pale silvery-gold thread that connected him to Nyanko-sensei. That last thread was a complete surprise to all three humans and the disguised youkai since youkai were considered spirits not magical creatures (or so they believed) though some youkai took the form of magical creatures; like kappas, kelpies, and mermaids. (Ryuu would later learn that those youkai with magic above and beyond their spiritual powers were considered to be magical creatures by the magical world.)

"Huh… never would have pegged Nyanko-sensei as being my son's familiar though they have spent quite a bit of time together over the last three years," Takashi mused thoughtfully before he turned his attention to the other two threads. "Is there a reason why the two new threads are different colors? I mean, I can understand Ryuu-kun having a stronger bond with Nyanko but why wouldn't the two new bonds be the same strength?"

"Most likely because your son consciously, or possibly unconsciously, reinforced the bond with the young owl when he was playing his flute. If he had spoken to the kitten or reached out and pet the kitten before interacting with the owl the thread colors would probably be reversed."

"Ah… that makes sense. I suppose you'd better ring up both animals," Takashi replied as he began gathering a selection of owl treats, a bag of cat food, cat treats, a sturdy owl perch, a cat bed, a cat box, a leather gauntlet and shoulder pad (for Ryuu to wear when handling his new owl), cat litter, and a small selection of toys for both animals. He also picked out three manuals; one on owl care, one on kneazle care, and one providing in depth information about the familiar bond.

The young owl happily ran his beak through his breast feathers as his cage was placed on the counter while the tiny kitten purred contentedly as it was loaded into a small carrier and placed beside the owl. Ryuu seemed more than a little stunned that he was being allowed to purchase both animals as he robotically placed the items his father picked out on the counter beside his two new familiars.

Ryuu wasn't exactly spoiled but neither was he deprived as he had been when he lived with his maternal aunt but he still was caught off guard when he was given substantial gifts. Like when Takashi had purchased an older model desktop computer (with lotus and word perfect installed) for him to use for school work or today when he was being allowed to have both of the pets he'd been torn between; both examples of things Ryuu never would have asked for on his own.

Once everything had been paid for and the supplies packed into a feather light bag with an expansion charm; Ryuu picked up the cat carrier while his father took both the bag of supplies and the owl cage. That only left Ryuu's wand left for them to purchase; since they'd already picked up Ryuu's uniforms and consumable course supplies (text books were provided to the students by the school). Silently, Ryuu followed his father out of the pet store and down the street to the wand shop that they had passed earlier that morning while picking up his other supplies.

The wand shop, whose name Ryuu didn't catch as they entered the store, reminded Ryuu of a museum or possibly a book store although it was far less cluttered. It was a one room store and three of the four walls were covered with thousands of cubby holes that were filled with dozens of long, slim wand boxes that were organized by wood, core, and length. To the left were the softwood wands and to the right were the hardwood wands while the back wall was filled with mixed woods or rare woods.

There were four or five columns for each type of wood with each column containing similar cores and the shorter wands near the top of the wall and the longer ones down near the floor. The rest of the room was open with tatami mats spread out over the floor with the forth wall holding two large floor to ceiling windows on either side of the door that allowed sunlight to filter into the store.

Seated on a cushion in the center of the room was an old man with a long, dark gray Fu Manchu moustache and an equally long, gray sparrow beard. By contrast the man's scalp was completely bald. He wore a simple white cotton kimono with delicate green bamboo leaves embroidered along the hem and on the sleeves. The man appeared to be meditating as he had his legs crossed, his hands resting lightly on his knees with his palms face up, and his eyes were closed.

"It appears that you have wandered into my shop a year too early," the man suddenly announced without opening his eyes. "Are you just curious about wands in general or was there something specific that you wished to ask me?"

"My son has permission to purchase his wand a year in advance from Headmaster Yamamoto; he'll be attending the summer session starting this coming Monday and he'll need a wand for class," Takashi explained as he shifted the owl cage and bag of supplies into the same hand so he could rest a hand on Ryuu's shoulder.

"Ah, your son must be Natsume Ryuu," the man exclaimed as he finally opened his eyes and studied Ryuu with dark brown eyes. "You are not what I expected. No matter; come sit, child, and let us see what wand sings your name."

"Singing wands?" Takashi echoed skeptically as he took the cat carrier from Ryuu and nudged him forward.

"Yes, the magic of each wand sings a melody all its own until the day it comes in contact with the magic of a witch or wizard that it can harmonize with. The closer the harmony matches the melody the stronger the match between the wizard and the wand and the easier it is for the wizard to draw upon the magic trapped inside of his core. I have within this shop, thousands upon thousands of melodies; each one differing in dynamics, pitch, rhythm, tempo, and tone."

"So… how do you find the one wand that harmonizes with a wizard's magic?"

"With magic, of course!"

Takashi felt the urge to palm his face at that rather offhand and more than a little corny reply but resisted the urge as he watched Ryuu tentatively sit down in front of the wand seller. The barest hint of a smirk lingering around the corners of the man's mouth told Takashi that the older man knew full well what effect his answer had had on him. In order to avoid rolling his eyes at the childishness of the wizard, Takashi focused his attention on his son who was sitting rather stiffly in front of the wand seller.

"Close your eyes, child, and relax; let your magic sing for my wands. Good… good… now tell me which hand is your wand hand."

Ryuu tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow as he considered the question before he tentatively held out both hands since he used them equally in music, writing, and martial arts.

"You are ambidextrous?" the wand seller murmured in surprise. "Very daring… but are you truly ambidextrous or do you just think you are? Tell me… which had do you use when you write?" Ryuu wiggled the fingers on both hands to indicate that he used them both. "Speak up, child! Contrary to general opinion I am unable to read minds; I need to hear your voice in order to hear the song your magic sings."

"My son does not speak," Takashi announced softly as Ryuu hunched his shoulders and dropped his hands into his lap. "And he writes with both hands equally."

"Does not speak? Oh dear… that makes finding his true wand a bit more difficult. Hmm… Can he not make not a single sound?"

"He knows how to whistle and he plays the flute but he is unable to use his voice."

"The flute you say? Whistling might work but is so limited… I don't have a flute in the shop. Can you come back on Monday and bring a flu… oh you have one with you already! Wonderful. Close your eyes again and play whatever comes to mind."

Ryuu snorted silently, since he hadn't bothered opening his eyes when he pulled out his ocarina, and lifted the flute up to his lips as he thought of his new owl. He'd barely produced a half a dozen soft, low notes when said owl began calling to him as he had in the store and Ryuu obliged the bird for a few minutes before he felt an urge to play the higher, sweeter tones that the starlings produced interspersed with the sharper, crisper notes of the magpies and the melodious twittering of the finches that sometimes visited him. After several minutes of bird song, accompanied by the hooting calls of the juvenile owl, Ryuu seamlessly moved on to a fairly simple piece that sounded like a gentle summer breeze that built up to a winter gale before mellowing out to a spring storm before turning into the wind whistling through the reeds that faded back into the softest breeze.

While he played, the wand seller climbed to his feet and after a moment's contemplation he approached the wall holding the hardwood wands. Every few feet his hand would dart out to select a wand or two before he moved on to the next column until he'd gathered up approximately thirty wand boxes. Around the time Ryuu switched from the lively bird song to the mournful tones of the wind, the man had arranged the boxes in a semi-circle in front of Ryuu after discarding a couple of the boxes he'd taken down. By the time Ryuu's song had reached the raging storms that brought to mind storm tossed seas there were only twelve boxes sitting in front of the ten year old.

Ryuu was just falling into one of the livelier festival tunes some thirty minutes later when he was asked to set his flute aside for a moment and open his eyes. When he saw the boxes arranged in front of him he gave them a curious glance before he looked to the wand seller for instructions.

"Go a head and give them each a try… if your wand isn't among these ones we can try again," the man eagerly ordered with a wild wave of his hand at the wands. "I've never had such a challenging search and I'm eager to see how close I came to selecting the correct melody to accompany your soul."

Nyanko growled and groused as Ryuu reached out towards a rather dark wand and Ryuu hesitated as he glanced at the ageless cat before swinging his hand over to where a trio of pale white wands sat side by side. When Nyanko made no further protests, Ryuu reached out and picked up the shortest wand and felt a slight warmth flood through him. Not certain what was expected of him, he brought the wand closer to he could twirl it between his fingers as he studied the fine grain of the wood before he put it back in its box and reached for the one beside it.

This time his fingers had barely touched the handle when the sound of his new kitten sneezing repeatedly had him pulling his hand away as if he'd been burnt. When the third wand from that group drew a similar response, Ryuu ignored it completely and randomly picked up one of the other, slightly darker wands. The moment his hand closed around the handle, Ryuu felt a flood of _something_ rush through his entire soul before it poured over into his body and up out through the wand in a shower of tiny golden sparks and frozen snow flakes the size of a penny.

A swirl of icy cold wind mixed up in a warm breeze swirled around Ryuu as a muted roar fought with the soothing melody of a mythical songbird. All the while as the magic danced around and through Ryuu, the strange scar on his left temple glowed. Two minutes after first picking up the wand the magic slowly faded and retreated back into Ryuu's core and the almost ten year old was left with the feeling that he had thousands of bees buzzing just beneath his skin.

"Sugoi!" the wand seller breathed with unfeigned awe as his eyes tracked the path of a single snowflake as it drifted to the floor lazily before it disappeared. "Sugoi. I never would have guessed that one would match… I considered putting it back several times but something stayed my hand. Fifteen inches of sturdy cherry wood from a wild Yoshino Cherry tree I found stubbornly growing on the side of a cliff on Mount Fuji thirty-five years ago."

"One of the few duel core wands I produced; it has the heartstring of a twenty year old Chinese Fireball that was responsible for taking out seventeen passenger flights crossing over the Japanese Sea before five Samurai no Mahoujutsu brought him down after a three day long battle and the flight feather of a fledgling ice phoenix that my grandfather saved from a yeti eighty-seven years ago."

"Once thought to be an impossible combination to create in a wand, it combines the power of fire and ice in a house of unbending hardwood; that wand will sing loudly in battle… making it an excellent choice for defensive magic and transfiguration. Treat that wand with care; it will become temperamental should you not show proper respect or fail to take proper care of it."

Ryuu nodded hesitantly as he stared down at the wand in his hand in awe. He almost didn't want to let the wand go when the man gently took it from him and returned it to its box; swallowing thickly at the sudden feeling of loss he felt the instant he lost contact with the wand. His eyes never left the wand box as the wand maker wrapped the box in translucent gold foil and tucked it into a small tote bag along with a pamphlet on wand care, small jar of wand polish, a soft chamois rag, and a removable sleeve and pocket holster.

If he had a voice he would have whimpered and groaned when the man passed the bag holding his wand over to his father with a knowing smirk once more playing around the corners of his mouth.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Aikido, hapkido, and ju jitsu are all types of martial arts; Daito-ryu aiki-jujutsu being one branch of Ju jitsu.  
>Baasan – grandmother<br>Bo – staff that is typically about six feet in length  
>Bokken – wooden sword<br>Hanbo – half-staff, usually about 35 inches in length (just under three feet)  
>Jiisan – grandfather<br>Jo – another short staff that is about 50 inches in length (or just over four feet)  
>Sugoi – wonderful, amazing, or wow and also terrible and dreadful depending on the tone used<p>

**Notes:**

Sparrow beard – a goatee that has been split into two braided sections that usually hang down at least two to three inches below the chin

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And we're now a year and a half closer to Hogwarts and Ryuu has flourished while in the care of Takashi though he still has issues. I could have gone into far more detail about what happened over the two year time skip but covering everything could have gotten tedious given how much he needed to grow during that time to get him to where he is now. _

_I also figured that any events that merited mention could be dealt with in flashbacks or through omakes at some point in the future; such as some of Ryuu's meetings with youkai that Takashi interacted with repeatedly like the little kitsune boy or that weird pair that often runs to him in fear, cheers him on from the side lines, or drinks sake with Nyanko. _

_From this point forward the story is going to be fairly fast pace (spending no more than a chapter or two on specific events or covering a specific time period) and the chapters will only grow longer from this point forward though there may be an occasional short one. I'd also like to remind everyone that while certain specific canon events will take place they won't necessarily happen the way they did in the books and there are some things I've thrown out, changed completely, or left the same depending on how they fit in with the plot. _

_That said; I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. ~ Jenn_

**09-01-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas as well as breaking a few paragraphs down so as to improve readability._


	12. Entering the Realm of Magic and Mystery

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 11: Entering the Realm of Magic and Mystery<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>03:15 P.M. Sunday July 01, 1990 <em>

Ryuu fidgeted nervously as he sat on the couch while he waited for the staff member that was supposed to be collecting him this evening to take him to Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu for his orientation. On the floor at his feet, were a disgruntled juvenile Ural owl in his traveling cage, a bored Korat kitten sleeping in his cat carrier, and the magically expanded suitcase that Takashi had purchased for him in London three years earlier packed with his uniforms, a couple changes of clothes, his school supplies, his flute case, supplies and food for both of his familiars, a couple reading books, and an assortment of workbooks in case he found enough free time during the week to get a head start on his summer studies.

In his backpack, which was half slung over his left shoulder, he had a box of homemade taiyaki with his favorite fillings from Touko-baasan, his binder of sheet music, a photo album that Taki had made for him, a fancy calligraphy and stationary set Shigure-jiisan had given him, the small shrine that had once sat in their London hotel room, the bag holding his wand and wand care kit, a small whiteboard, a whiteboard eraser, a pack of dry erase markers, and a small pouch with a dozen sickles and a handful of knuts for spending money.

After a few more minutes, Ryuu curled up in the corner of the couch as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his ceramic ocarina and began running through his scales to calm his nerves. The soothing, soft notes also helped calm the displeased owl as Ryuu's concerns faded into the background as he lost himself in rising and falling notes. It was as he was starting on the third repetition of scales that a knock sounded at the door and Ryuu dropped the flute from his mouth as Touko-baasan opened the door and greeted whoever it was that had knocked. Tucking his flute back into his pocket, Ryuu leaned forward so he could peer through the open doorway in an effort to catch a glimpse of the person speaking with his grandmother.

Ryuu's eyes widened a touch in disbelief as he caught sight of a tall man dressed in a skin tight dark blue t-shirt, loose dark blue cargo pants, and a loose dark blue jacket. The man's hair was somewhere between white and gray and stuck up all over the place in a gravity-defying mess that was held out of the man's eyes by a dark blue headband. The most startling feature of the man though was the fact that he had two different colored eyes; the one on the right being a gray so dark it looked black while the left was a pale blue-gray.

Ryuu blinked as the appearance of the man standing in front of him finally registered in his mind and he brought his hand up to his mouth to hide his grin as he was immediately reminded of a character from the newly released Naruto manga that Takashi had bought for him a few weeks earlier. In fact, the only four things the man was missing were the Sharingan, a cloth face mask, the scar over his left eye, and a little orange book to complete the picture.

By the time Touko had invited the man, whom he guessed must be the person sent to bring him to the school, into the house Ryuu had managed to get his amusement under control. He watched as his father greeted the man just outside of the room and Ryuu slipped off his backpack and slowly climbed to his feet as the man followed Takashi into the room a moment later. Manners drilled into him by his family, Taki-san, and Takahashi-sensei over the last three years had him bowing respectfully to the stranger the moment the man looked in his direction.

"Hatake-san, this is my son; Natsume Ryuu," Takashi introduced politely. "Ryuu-kun, this is Hatake Kakashi, one of your instructors from Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu. He's here to escort you to school."

It took all of Ryuu's will power not to ogle the man that not only looked like a character from the new manga series but also shared the same name as him and he couldn't help but wonder if it was just coincidence. Fighting the urge to smirk, Ryuu bowed a second time before signing a greeting; _Ohayou gozaimasu, Hatake-sensei. It is an honor to meet you._

_Ohayou, Natsume-kun_, Hatake-sensei signed back, making Ryuu's eyes light up in appreciation since very few teachers, in his experience, actually understood sign language and fewer still had ever replied to him in kind. _It is a pleasure to meet you. Are all of your things packed?_

_Hai, sensei._

Hatake smiled as he let his eyes take in the cages, suitcase, and backpack clustered around the couch only to frown when he glanced back at said cages. He then turned to address Takashi, "School rules allow only one pet per student."

"What is the school's policy regarding familiars?" Takashi asked instead of acknowledging the man's statement.

"Familiars are, of course, allowed on both the school grounds and in all of the classrooms except the potions lab (for safety reasons). However, pets that a student is hoping to bond as a familiar do not count. It is obvious, due to the age of both your son and the two animals in question that they have not been in your family long enough and to have formed fully fledged familiar bonds."

"You are welcome to cast the bond detection spell if you doubt my word, Hatake-san," Takashi coolly offered as he gestured to Ryuu who was now stiffly glaring up at the teacher.

Hatake glanced from the young wizard to the two animals in question, all three of whom were now glaring at him, as he pulled out his wand to perform the spell in question. He hesitated for a brief moment, before he cast the same spell that the pet store proprietor had cast the previous morning. A few seconds later the gold thread that connected Ryuu to all three of his familiars shimmered into existence and split itself into individual threads with the pale silvery-gold thread connecting him to Nyanko disappearing out the door. The white haired teacher's eyebrows disappeared beneath his headband as he took in the two light gold threads that connected Ryuu to both the kitten and the owl even as his eyes followed the third thread that led out of the room.

"Huh, looks like the time he spent with both of them last night strengthened the bond already," Takashi commented lightly as Ryuu dropped his glare just a bit so he could smile at his familiars.

"My apologies," Hatake-sensei murmured. "It is rare for witches and wizards below the age of fifteen to bond with a familiar, let alone three. I will make certain that the rest of Ryuu's teachers are made aware of the fact that he has multiple familiars so he won't have any problems with taking one or both of them to class. I am curious though… why isn't he also taking the third familiar with him as well?"

"Ah, Nyanko-san is actually my cat," Takashi replied as Ryuu dropped his glare completely as he lifted his backpack from the couch and slipped it back over his shoulders. "Ryuu-kun has spent three years bonding with him but the old cat rarely leaves my sight."

"Strange, I didn't think it was possible for two people to establish a familiar bond with the same animal."

"Oh, I don't have a familiar bond with Nyanko; I don't have an ounce of magic. The cat has been with me for over twenty years now and you might say we've grown rather attached to each other."

Nothing more was said as the wizard set about installing the portal door that would link the Fujiwara's house with the magical academy and allow Ryuu to travel discreetly between his home and the school as needed during the rest of the summer. Though it would only be active for a set period of time on the days he would be traveling since maintaining an open portal is magically draining and this particular portal was tuned to Ryuu's magical signature since he would be the primary wizard using the doorway. The anchor point the portal was linked to at the school on the other hand was always open because it ran on the ambient magic that ran through the ley lines that the academy had been built upon.

When the time came for Ryuu to leave, Taki, Shigeru, Touko, and Kaname joined Takashi and Ryuu in the living room and the almost ten year old gave each of them a hug goodbye; clinging to Takashi and Taki slightly longer since he was closest to the two of them. Nyanko-sensei even trundled into the room to say goodbye at the last minute, the youkai for once not complaining about having the stuffing squeezed out of him. Five minutes later, with a cage in each hand and his compact suitcase tucked under his arm, Ryuu followed the gray haired wizard through the portal and stepped out onto the ground of the Japanese Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu.

Ryuu's first impression of the school grounds was green; everywhere he looked there were lush tress, bushes, flowers, and grass. He'd barely finished registering the scenery when he felt the oppressive weight of magic flooding the very air and he tensed beneath the unfamiliar pressure that was wrapping itself around him. He felt an overpowering urge to bolt back through the portal in order to escape the feeling only to be startled by a hand falling on his shoulder.

Already tense from being separated from his father for the first time in three years (not counting classes) combined with the nervousness of being in a new place and the alien presence of the wild magic in the air; Ryuu reacted instinctively as he dropped his suitcase and the cages of his familiars as he spun free from the hand and immediately moved so there were several feet separating them before falling into a defensive stance.

"Easy, Natsume-kun," Hatake-sensei calmly instructed as he held his hands up in the universal sign for 'I mean you no harm'. "I didn't mean to startle you. I know the wards of the school can be a little overwhelming the first time you encounter them and only wished to reassure you that it is perfectly normal to feel a bit uncomfortable until you adjust to the feeling."

Nodding jerkily, Ryuu relaxed his stance as he tried to calm his pounding heart and pull his breathing back under control. After a moment he crept back to his belongings and released the as yet unnamed owl from his cage as the bird hadn't appreciated being dropped like it had. The owl beat him about the head with its wings for a full minute before it settled down on Ryuu's left shoulder on top of the strap of his backpack.

The kitten was pulled out of the carrier next and Ryuu earned a thumb full of needle sharp teeth from the equally rattled cat before said cat clawed its way up his arm to cling to the right shoulder strap of the backpack. Ryuu then tucked both cages away into his suitcase before carefully standing up so he didn't jostle his familiars too much.

Once he had gathered up his things, Hatake-sensei led Ryuu over the cobbled path that led away from the portal gates. Ten minutes later, Ryuu got his first glimpse of the actual school and stumbled to a stop as he stared up at the large castle that had been built into the side of a mountain cliff. The main building was six stories high, with each level of the building smaller than the preceding level giving the building the appearance of a stone, wood, and tile pyramid; the high, sloping oriental roofs adding to the illusion.

Lights blazed from the many windows of the castle, lighting up the side of the mountain and illuminating the long stone staircase that led up to the entrance of the castle from the base of the cliff in a series of switchbacks in the fading afternoon light. Beside the staircase at the base of the cliff was a two story guardhouse where Ryuu could see several older students checking in with a pair of uniformed guards. Looking back to the stairs, he noticed other groups of students making their way to the top.

"Come, Natsume-kun, you need to check in with the guards," Hatake-sensei instructed briskly as he glanced back over his shoulder and noted that Ryuu had stopped walking.

Pulling his eyes away from the looming castle, Ryuu complied and hurried after the man. He had about a ten minute wait once he reached the guardhouse and then it was another fifteen minutes to actually check in as he was required to register his familiars with the guards. Once he was finished it was an hour's hike to reach the castle and by the time he stepped off the final stair his legs were burning from all the climbing. He wasn't exactly out of shape and he actually had decent stamina thanks to two years of aikido lessons but the long climb had sapped quite a bit of his energy by the time it was over.

He was then led into the castle where he was turned over to a fourth year student along with four other first time students. Uncertain whether any of the other students would know sign language, Ryuu took a moment to dig out the small whiteboard and one of the markers he'd brought so he could write down any questions he had or answer any questions directed towards him. He then moved slightly away from the other students as the fourth year introduced himself before having the first years introduce themselves. When it was Ryuu's turn he held up the white board with his name on it written in kanji and flinched slightly when a couple of the other first year boys laughed at him.

Resigned to spending the rest of the summer once again isolated from his peers because of their immaturity, Ryuu ignored the two boys and focused on the fourth year who began leading them on a tour through the castle, starting with the classrooms that were located on the first floor. On the second floor were the teacher's offices, the student library, cafeteria, kitchen, and staff lounge. The third floor, which was actually the largest floor; extending nearly a mile into the cliff side, was the student dormitories which were divided into two main sections which separated the girls from the boys. Both sections were connected to a large common room with multiple tables, desks, chairs, and couches where the students could relax and study during their free periods.

Opening up off the common room were sixteen hallways that led back into the cliffs where the actual dorms were located (eight leading to the boys' dorms and eight leading to the girls' dorms). Fourteen of the hallways were for the full time students that were attending the academy during the normal school year and were therefore off-limits to the summer session students (unless they were also enrolled in the regular sessions). The final two doors opened into the hallways that led to the temporary dorms for the summer session students (one of the girls and one for the boys).

It was down the last hallway on the left that the forth year led the five first time students until they reached a trio of doors about midway down the hallway. The fourth year then directed the four eleven year olds in their group to split into pairs and pick one of the two end rooms while Ryuu was informed he'd be bunking with the fourth year in the middle room. They were then given ten minutes to put their things away and grab their musical instrument before they were to meet back in the common room so they could finish the tour.

"Come on, Natsume-kun," the fourth year, whose name was Maruyama Satoshi, announced once the other four students had vanished. "I hope you don't mind being stuck with the top bunk."

Ryuu let out a silent sigh as he followed the older boy into the dorm and let his eyes sweep the small room. There were two desks and chairs pushed up against the wall on either side of the door, which sat in the center of the wall. Directly beside each desk, in the corner, was a matching pair of five foot tall bookshelves with four shelves. Fixed to the wall above each desk was a wall sconce in the shape of a Chinese Fireball holding a thick candle in its upturned mouth. Pushed up against the wall opposite of the door was a bunk bed bracketed by twin wardrobes that had a tall cupboard over-top of a pair of drawers.

"The wardrobe on the right is yours as is the desk and bookshelf; mine are on the left. All I ask is that you keep your side of the room neat so we don't get docked points during the weekly inspections. If you have any questions feel free to ask."

Ryuu shook his head no as he opened the wardrobe on the right and set his suitcase inside of it before he slipped off his backpack, which caused both of his familiars to vacate their perches as he set the pack beside the suitcase. After a moment's hesitation he opened the suitcase and dug out the shoulder perch his father had bought so the owl's talons wouldn't pierce his skin along with the case that held his flutes. He then closed both the suitcase and the wardrobe door before he turned to face the older boy expectantly only to find the boy staring up at the owl who was now perched onto of the wardrobe.

"Two pets?" Maruyama inquired curiously as he glanced down at the kitten sniffing around the bottom of the wardrobe.

_They are my familiars._ Ryuu scrawled on his whiteboard below his name.

"Are you going to be writing down everything? I can understand being a little shy but don't you think you're taking it just a little too far?"

Ryuu wiped the board clean with his sleeve before he wrote down his reply; _It isn't because I'm shy. I am unable to speak so unless you can understand sign language then this is the only way I can communicate._

"Gomen nasai, Natsume-kun," Maruyama murmured as his eyes widened. "I had no idea… though that knowledge helps me understand why Yamamoto-shishou asked me to bunk with you instead of with the other fourth years this summer. As for hand signs, I do know a handful of the common ones and maybe half of the alphabet so I can probably catch some of what you'd say but it would probably be best to stick to written responses for a couple of days."

Ryuu nodded in reply as he awkwardly strapped the shoulder pad into place on his left shoulder, the straps running over his chest beneath both armpits to prevent the leather pad from slipping when the owl landed. The moment it was in place, the owl swooped down from the wardrobe and reclaimed his perch. Ryuu then needed to crouch down to pick up the crying cat, who had started fussing the moment the owl had landed, and transferred him to his right shoulder where he promptly curled up against the crook of his neck before lifting his flute case from where he'd set it on the floor.

"I'm surprised the owl hasn't tried to eat the kitten," Maruyama remarked as they made their way out of their dorm and headed back to the common room.

_He prefers to eat other birds_, was Ryuu's written reply.

When the other four first years rejoined them, Maruyama lead the way up to the fourth floor where the school's twelve dojos and the five music classrooms were located. On the wall beside the door to each dojo was a small sign listing the instructor assigned to the dojo, the branch of martial arts the instructor taught, and whether the class was for beginner, intermediate, or advanced levels. The five main types that were taught at the school were aikido, hapkido, ju jitsu, judo, and kendo; with aikido and ju jitsu being taught in the same dojo by the same instructor at all three levels while the other three branches were taught by separate instructors.

The music rooms were set up the same way with a different room being assigned to one of the five levels of instruction that the school offered. The five first time summer students were then led to the closest music room where the assessments were being held for those students that needed to be placed in an appropriate level (the other classrooms already occupied by similar groups being tested).

As they filed into the room Ryuu noted that three of the other boys each carried violin cases while the forth carried a trumpet in his hand. The three boys who played the violin were tested first; each of them asked to run through the scales before playing a different piece of music after the young woman testing them asked them a series of questions about how long they'd been playing, what level they were currently working at, and which style of music they usually played.

Once it became apparent that she was asking each of them the same questions, Ryuu wrote out his answers on his whiteboard while he waited for his turn. Not knowing whether or not he'd be required to play a piece on each of the different flutes he'd brought with him, Ryuu opted to let the trumpet player go first so the boy wouldn't resent him for making him wait.

When it was finally his turn, Ryuu handed the woman his whiteboard with his answers on it as he opened his case and assembled those flutes that were stored in sections while he waited for the sensei to tell him to start. The manic look in the young woman's eyes when she read over the list of flutes that Ryuu knew how to play put him on edge as he eyed her nervously.

He ended up being asked to go through the scales on each flute and play twelve bars of the same song on all of them except the western flute. After running through the scales on the western flute, she handed him a sheet of music and told him to play until he made a mistake or came to the end of the song. Taking a moment to skim through the first half of the score, Ryuu quickly recognized the song as one Taki had taught him a year earlier and brought his flute up to his mouth as he let his eyes fall closed to play the piece from memory. Twenty minutes later, the final note faded away as Ryuu lowered the flute and opened his eyes to find the woman grinning like a loon at him as she announced that he'd be joining the advanced music classes.

Two of the violinists (the same two boys that had laughed at him earlier) were scowling at Ryuu as he returned his last flute to the case, both of them jealous because they'd been placed in the intermediate class after previously proclaiming they were playing at an advanced level (the advanced class actually requiring the student to be able to play two or more different types of instruments). The trumpet player and the final violinist didn't seem that bothered over the placements and the forth year simply smiled at Ryuu as the near ten year old picked up his case and retrieved his whiteboard from the young instructor.

Ryuu was then dropped off outside of the ju jitsu/aikido dojo where he would be tested by the instructor, who turned out to be Hatake-sensei, while Maruyama escorted the other four students to different dojos as apparently they were taking a different branch of martial arts from the two that Ryuu had been signed up for. Ryuu entered the dojo and silently placed his flute case by the door with his whiteboard.

He then lifted his familiars off his shoulders before bowing to Hatake-sensei who briefly glanced his way from the center of the room where he was testing a handful of other students with the help of a couple of second and third year students. Ryuu then spent about thirty minutes waiting for his turn before he was called out onto the mat and told to run through his aikido stances and katas. Once he'd finished those, he was told to spar with one of the older students in order for Hatake-sensei to evaluate his current proficiency.

When he was finished, he was told that he'd be attending the beginning hapkido lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays and beginning ju jitsu classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He might have been allowed to join the intermediate classes if not for his obvious reluctance to initiate an attack and his tendency to flinch whenever contact was made during the spar due to a combination of his dislike of physical contact, dealing with perfect strangers, and the fact that he was out of his comfort zone in a new place.

Hatake held him back after the older students had been dismissed and confronted him about his obvious unease of physical contact. Ryuu felt uncomfortable with the idea of discussing that with a man he really didn't know and simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as he averted his eyes. The exasperated sigh the instructor released let Ryuu know that the subject would be revisited another time even as the man dismissed him.

Collecting his things and his familiars, Ryuu bolted from the room and nearly crashed into Maruyama who'd been waiting outside the dojo for him (the other four having finished their assessments earlier). After apologizing to the older boy, the pair turned to head back to the dorms when Hatake-sensei called the fourth year back for a moment and Ryuu shifted nervously from foot to foot as he waited (as asked) for the sensei to finish with the older boy.

By the time the two boys returned to their dorm room, Ryuu had just enough time to shower and change into his school uniform before they were supposed to head down to the cafeteria for supper. The uniform was comprised of black slacks, a white undershirt, and a black jacket with a column of five black buttons down the front. It was a rather old fashioned uniform compared to the tan slacks, white dress shirt, tie, and navy blazer that he'd worn at the elementary school but it was also far easier to put on.

As Maruyama led Ryuu and the other four first year students down to the cafeteria for supper, the fourth year explained to the five younger boys that the fifth and sixth levels of the castle were off limits to students. The fifth level containing the instructors' private quarters while the entire sixth floor was reserved for the headmaster, assistant headmaster, and visiting dignitaries. Additionally, the basement and dungeons below the first floor classrooms were also off limits as that was where the potion labs (the basement) and the magical creature stables (the dungeon) were located; both classes only available during the normal school term unless they were attending some of the more advanced classes offer during the summer sessions or were escorted by a teacher.

After a moderate feast of traditional Japanese dishes, Headmaster Yamamoto stood up to welcome the students to the summer term and hand out a few start of term notices. When the announcements were over, the first time students were all asked to stay behind for their orientation while the older students were instructed to report to the library to collect their textbooks and pick up their schedules. Several staff members then began passing out information packets to the new students the moment last of the returning students had vacated the cafeteria.

Once everyone had a packet along with their class schedules, the first years were instructed to separate into their assigned class groups which were listed in the upper right hand corner of their schedule. There were a total of nine class groups, each one containing between twenty and twenty-five students. Their group assignments were based upon their chosen elective which made it easier for the staff to keep track of who was supposed to be where at what time with those taking music divided into two groups because it was the second most popular elective, sports being the most popular with a total of three groups.

Group assignments would stay the same during subsequent summer sessions as well in order to make it easier for them to fall back into their schedules each year they returned. Ryuu's group was designated as M2-90 which was comprised of those students who'd chosen music as their elective and had been placed in the intermediate or advanced classes while M1-90 was for those who had been placed the introductory or beginner music classes.

Next they were introduced to the various instructors for their courses and given a half hour to read through the information packets. As they read through the various pamphlets, maps, and guides, the staff circulated among the tables answering questions and giving explanations for the various rules and regulations that the students were expected to follow.

When they were finished with that, the groups were released in fifteen minute intervals so they could head up to the library to check out their textbooks. Ryuu's group just so happened to be the last one left in the cafeteria when he felt more than heard a group of adults approaching him. Glancing over his shoulder, Ryuu felt a rock settle in his stomach as he saw Headmaster Yamamoto, Hatake Kakashi, and three other adults heading in his direction.

Ryuu turned around and climbed to his feet when the group was just a few feet away and automatically bowed, upsetting his two familiars as the owl cuffed him upside the head with his wings for a second time and the kitten dug his claws into the side of his neck as he clung to Ryuu's shirt. Mortified that he'd forgotten about his familiars, Ryuu flushed red as he straightened up and caught sight of the amusement on the faces of four of the five adults watching him. He became even more nervous when Hatake-sensei immediately instructed Ryuu to follow them and Ryuu could feel the eyes of his classmates on him as he was led out of the cafeteria and up to the headmaster's office on the second floor.

"Relax, Natsume-kun," Headmaster Yamamoto instructed as he sat down behind his desk while the other four adults stood slightly behind Ryuu against the back wall. "You aren't in any trouble and you'll be able to join your classmates in the library to get your books in just a few minutes. I called you in here for a few reasons; the first is so that your two familiars can be properly registered with the Department of Magical Creatures and Games. Doctor Sato is an animal healer with the Department and she will need to perform a complete medical check up on both creatures to insure they are in good health and that the bond isn't causing them any stress."

Ryuu nodded and carefully lifted the kitten down from his shoulder first as he turned to face the only woman in the room, who was wearing a white and green hitatare over a bronze hakama with the Magistrate's crest embroidered on the back. The healer smiled as she conjured a small table and asked Ryuu to place the kneazle down so she could scan him.

As she worked, the woman asked Ryuu a steady stream of questions but never looked up to see his replies as he hadn't taken his whiteboard to supper. It was obvious that the woman was growing a little upset over the lack of reply from him as she began repeating the questions a second time. Ryuu knew that both the headmaster and Hatake-sensei both understood sign language but he didn't know why the two men hadn't informed the vet of his condition (not quite realizing that this was another test).

Not wanting things to drag on forever, Ryuu brought his fingers up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that made half of the adults in the room jump and stare at him. Once he had everyone's attention, he asked the vet if she understood sign language and when she just stared at him blankly, Ryuu turned to the Headmaster and asked if he could either borrow a pen and paper or if the man would be willing to translate for him. In the end, Hatake-sensei ended up being volunteered to play translator during the rest of the examination.

When it was over, Doctor Sato proclaimed the young kneazle in excellent health before announcing that she'd be neutering the young cat. Ryuu protested vehemently as he protectively gathered up the kneazle kitten; he'd read that spells cast on a familiar (or injuries that caused pain) could transfer over to their wizard. That was especially true in the cases where the bond between wizard and familiar was fairly strong (as Ryuu's were) and he had no desire to learn what it felt like to be neutered.

The healer tried insisting that the kneazle needed to be neutered for both his and the kneazle's health but gave up when Ryuu stubbornly refused. The owl's examination was far less stressful and when she was finished with the bird, Doctor Sato cast the bond detection spell so she could log the strength of the forming bond and her eyes about fell out of her head when the three pale threads formed (one disappearing off into the distance).

Seeing the strength of the bonds, she immediately apologized for trying to insist on neutering the cat since as an animal healer she was aware of the various aspects of the familiar bond. She left shortly after presenting Ryuu with licenses for both familiars and instructions to contact the Magistrate when he was ready to register his third familiar. Ryuu seriously doubted that Nyanko-sensei would tolerate the process but held his tongue (figuratively speaking).

"Moving onto the next order of business," Headmaster Yamamoto announced as he beckoned for the man dressed in a uniform similar to the one that the animal healer had been wearing, only he had a black hakama on and the crest on the back of his hitatare was the academy's crest of a Chinese Fireball curled up in a circle with a wand clutched in one claw and a sword in the other and it's wings half open and curving parallel to its back. "Healer Inoue is the head of the academy's on-site medical staff and he's going to be performing a few diagnostic scans to check your health, current index levels, and verify that your magic is stable. Usually this would be done prior to your arrival but the finalization of your enrollment was a little rushed."

Ryuu cast a pensive glance at the healer before he nodded and reluctantly sat down on the conjured table that the animal healer had left in place while Healer Inoue asked Hatake-sensei to continue providing translations before launching into a series of health related questions. Ryuu slowly relaxed as the healer calmly cast a series of diagnostic spells while he answered the man's constant stream of questions about his current health, diet, past injuries and illnesses, and known allergies.

There was a brief pause in the exam when Healer Inoue tested Ryuu's current magical index level (the results clearly visible to the other adults present) when Headmaster Yamamoto asked him to check it a second time since Ryuu's records indicated that his index was last measured at eighty-eight just two years earlier. A second check didn't change the findings; Ryuu's index had jumped another two points in the two years since the last time he had been tested.

There was a full five minutes of silence as the adults digested that information and the complications it represented when it came to Ryuu's training. Ryuu shifted nervously during the silence but otherwise had no real clue as to what the ramifications of having a steadily rising index level were. Once the adults got over their shock, Healer Inoue continued with the rest of his exam.

They were nearly finished when Ryuu felt the temperature in the office drop a few degrees as a translucent figure wearing ancient samurai armor floated through the wall. The moment the youkai glanced in Ryuu's direction the ten year old bolted off the table and headed straight for the door as fast as his feet could carry him. He dodged the healer's attempt to grab his arm and was just reaching out to open the door when he felt himself grabbed from behind.

Instinctively, he lashed out with elbows and feet only to suddenly find himself face down on the floor with one hand pinned to the floor, his other hand held tightly behind his back, and a knee pressing down on his spine holding him in place. Slightly dazed, Ryuu lifted his head and violently flinched when he found himself face to face with the ghostly samurai. He began hyperventilating as he struggled against the person holding him in place as his heart began pounding wildly out of control as panic flooded through him.

The scar on the side of his face started glowing as his magic reacted to his growing panic when the youkai reached out as if it was going to touch him. A loud screech followed by an angry yowl filled the room as both of his familiars suddenly attacked the youkai to the shock of the four wizards in the room. Even more shocking was the fact that their physical attacks actually affected the spirit; their claws, teeth, talons, and beak leaving obvious marks on the spectral figure – something that should have been impossible. They would later learn that the ability Ryuu's familiars had to inflict damage on spirits was a direct result of both creatures pulling on Ryuu's spiritual powers through the bond.

With the youkai no longer filling Ryuu's vision, his magic lashed out at the person holding him hostage instead of attacking the apparition that had sparked his initial panic. Finding himself free, Ryuu curled up in a ball on his side as he fought to catch his breath even as his eyes wildly searched the room for the youkai. It didn't take him long to realize his familiars had chased the youkai from the room and he dropped his face to the floor and closed his eyes as the panic slowly receded. The touch of a hand on his shoulder sent Ryuu flying up off the floor in renewed panic as he backed away from the pair of wizards that had approached him.

"Natsume-kun, there is nothing to fear," Headmaster Yamamoto stated.

Ryuu half glanced at the headmaster with haunted green eyes before he returned his attention to the healer and Hatake-sensei, the latter wizard the one who'd pinned Ryuu to the floor earlier if the smoke curling from his slightly singed clothes was any indication. When he saw Hatake-sensei lift a hand, Ryuu flinched and backed further away from the martial arts instructor.

"The being you saw was not a youkai, it was a shiryou bound to the school grounds. An echo of a dead wizard that feared death so much his soul was trapped here when he died. There are a couple dozen such beings living here at the academy and they will not harm you or any of your fellow students."

_You saw him?_ Ryuu signed shakily, his mind latching onto the fact that the headmaster knew what had spooked him.

"Yes, the shiryou are visible to all witches and wizards due to the magic that tethers them to this world," Headmaster Yamamoto replied. "I must apologize for not warning you about their presence sooner; they are so much apart of the school that I tend to overlook their presence most of the time."

Ryuu relaxed slightly as he turned to face the headmaster once more halfway through signing yet another question when a movement out of the corner of his eye had him jerking his head back around to find the healer had taken a few steps closer to him. Still feeling unsettled over the entire ordeal with the ghost, Ryuu backed up until his back hit the wall in an effort to keep as much space between himself and everyone else in the room. A white blur swooping down on him from near the ceiling sent him bolting for the door a second time as he didn't immediately recognize his owl. Only to find himself face down on the floor once more, this time having tripped over his kitten.

It ended up taking another half an hour for Ryuu to calm down enough to allow the healer to finish his examination. And while he was somewhat calm he remained tense and on edge, flinching and cringing any time one of the wizards shifted positions or glanced in his direction and also whenever the healer needed to touch him. Once that was over with, Headmaster Yamamoto introduced Kimura Fumio, the instructor that Ryuu would be working on silent spell casting with every afternoon. The headmaster then asked Kimura-sensei to take Ryuu to the library to collect his textbooks and escort him back to his dorm afterwards. The moment he was dismissed, Ryuu practically bolted from the room; taking care to give Hatake Kakashi a wide berth to insure the man couldn't grab him again.

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><p><em>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu<br>Hokkaido Island, Japan  
>07:30 A.M. Monday July 02, 1990 <em>

Ryuu stumbled out of the dojo behind the rest of students that were enrolled in beginning hapkido, making it a point to avoid the older students. He was exceedingly grateful that he hadn't had Hatake-sensei this morning while trying not to think about the fact that he'd be seeing the formidable wizard the following morning when he was supposed to attend his first beginning ju jitsu lesson. He was still pretty jumpy and pale, having slept poorly the night before as his dreams had been plagued by old nightmares on top of his discomfort of being in a strange bed so far from the comforting presence of his father and Nyanko-sensei.

He probably would not have gotten any asleep at all if not for the protective shrine he'd set up in his wardrobe where it wouldn't be noticed or disturbed by the other students. He also would have been late to his first lessons of the day if not for Maruyama waking him up. As if thinking of the older boy had summoned him, Maruyama fell into step beside Ryuu as the headed down the stairs to their dorms so they could grab their uniforms and take a quick shower before heading to breakfast.

"How was your lesson?"

Ryuu shrugged in response, too tired to bother signing or writing out a reply at the moment. The older boy laughed and made to slap Ryuu on the back only to stop in surprise when Ryuu twisted and ducked away from his hand before it could connect. Maruyama blinked a couple of times before he shook his head and caught up to Ryuu once more, seemingly ignoring the way Ryuu sidestepped him in order to maintain a distance of nearly two feet between them. Ryuu felt the older boy's eyes follow him more than once while they cleaned up and put on their uniforms and he couldn't help but fidget restlessly as he placed the textbooks he'd need for his classes into his backpack.

Breakfast was a rather unpleasant affair for Ryuu as he constantly felt eyes watching him. He knew Maruyama was one of his watchers along with a number of the staff that were present and a good portion of the students that had been in his hapkido lesson. When the number of eyes watching his every move became too much, Ryuu abandoned his breakfast and fled the room with as much dignity as he could muster, ignoring Maruyama's calls for him to wait up.

Taking the stairs down to the first floor, Ryuu spent ten minutes hunting for the calligraphy classroom and slipped inside when he found the door unlocked. He stood just inside the classroom for several minutes as he tried to decide whether he wanted to sit up front so it was easier for the instructor to read his replies (or see his hands if they understood sign language) or if he wanted to hide in the back so he wouldn't have to feel everyone's eyes on him.

In the end, he opted to sit at the back of the room because while he normally would want to be up front so he could be certain the teacher could easily see or read his questions or replies, he had no desire to be on display for his entire class a second time after what had happened in the cafeteria. He had just settled down at the corner desk in the back row when the door opened and the elderly witch that taught the class entered the room levitating several boxes behind her. She jumped a bit when she noticed Ryuu sitting in the classroom but simply shook her head and stacked the boxes beside her desk.

"It's rare to find students willing to show up to class a half an hour early."

Ryuu dropped his eyes to his desk and shrugged his shoulders even as he wondered if the woman was going to kick him out of the room until class started.

"Well, since it appears you wish to simply kill time before class starts, you can give me a hand setting out the supplies for the students."

Leaving his backpack on his chair, with his kitten sleeping in the small outer pocket, Ryuu warily approached the instructor's desk with his owl clinging to his shoulder and waited for instructions on what needed to be done. A minute later, he was handed a stack of wooden cases and instructed to place one on each desk, Ryuu nodded and started at the back of the room. It took him eight trips since he was limited in the number of boxes he could carry else they'd slip from his hands due to the smooth finish on both sides of the cases.

Next he was asked to set out a single workbook, two notebooks of unlined parchment, and three notebooks of lined parchment at each desk. That didn't take as long since it required fewer trips between the rows of desks and the boxes at the front of the room. When he set the last stack of notebooks on his chosen desk, he dug his whiteboard out of his backpack and grabbed the blue marker before approaching the instructor's desk once more and setting the board down so she could read what he'd written there.

_Is there anything else you needed, sensei?_

"No, that should be all for now, Natsume-kun. Oh, don't look so surprised over the fact that I know your name. Yamamoto-shishou made certain all of the first session instructors knew who you were and that we were made aware of your disability so we would not be caught unawares when you didn't verbally respond during classes. Go ahead and take your seat, class will be starting in about eight minutes."

Three minutes later, the rest of Ryuu's classmates began trickling into the room, more than a few of them casting curious or disdainful glances in Ryuu's direction. Ryuu studiously ignored them much as he had ignored the other students in elementary school and continued to flip through the workbook the instructor had had him place on each desk. At exactly nine o'clock, a gong sounded throughout the school indicating the start of class and all of the students fell silent as the instructor rose to her feet and addressed the entire class.

"Ohayou, class. For those of you who were not paying attention during your orientation last night, my name is Hasegawa Chiyo and I will be your instructor for all of your Calligraphy lessons for as long as you attend the summer sessions," Hasegawa intoned sternly as she gazed out over the students. "This class is designed to teach you the proper way to hold, use, and maintain the various writing implements that are commonly used throughout the magical world. Do not presume to think that just because you've used a pencil, pen, or quill in the past that you can properly use a brush, quill, or stylus the first time you place bristle or nib to parchment."

"Sloppy penmanship can mean the difference between life and death when you are trying to follow a hand written potion recipe or when you are attempting to carve runes for a ward scheme. The written word, no matter what the language, is both art and science. Letter or kanji, the forms are precise and a mistake can turn a sleeping potion into a poison or turn a protective ward into an explosion in the blink of an eye."

"On your desk will find a practice work book and several blank notebooks both lined and unlined; they are not ordinary books. The parchment bound into those books has been specially treated with a nullifying potion in order to prevent your magic from turning destructive when you make a mistake. The parchment in the workbook has further been spelled to evaluate your efforts so that when you make mistakes, and I can guarantee that you will make mistakes, you will immediately see what you have done wrong."

"When you practice outside of class, you are to use the lined and unlined notebooks I have provided you and not the common notebooks or parchment scrolls that you might have purchased when you bought the rest of your school supplies. It is important that each one of you remembers that magic is found in everything; even the ink you will be using in this class. Carelessly splashing that magic around without proper control and respect will see your magical careers cut short as you either burn out your core or blow yourself up."

"Now, please open the wooden case on your desk and take out the plain iron rod and open your workbooks to the first page. The rod is called a Training Point and it is used exclusively to teach students how to properly hold a magical writing implement. You hold the Training Point between the first two fingers and thumb on your dominant hand if you feel a flash of heat from the rod it means you are not holding it properly and will need to adjust your grip accordingly until it feels cool to the touch."

The rest of the lesson passed similarly, the rod heating up whenever a student's grip slipped and the ink patterns in the workbook glowing red when a mistake was made or glowing blue when you correctly traced the patterns with the Training Point. After her initial lecture, Hasegawa-sensei wandered up and down the rows offering criticism, advice, and praise judiciously as she monitored their efforts. They were dismissed at the end of the period with firm admonishments to practice for at least a half hour sometime that afternoon or evening and a warning to touch none of the other writing implements in their cases.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ohayou – good morning  
>Shiryou – spirit of a dead personghost/departed soul  
>Shishou – master; a form of respectful address added when an apprentice or subordinate addresses his or her master or boss. Not used in masterslave relationships that I know of as I've only seen it used in the apprenticeship relationships. An example is Sakura addressing Tsunade as shishou in the Naruto series after the Godaime took her as a second apprentice. It applies here because the instructors (and the students) see the headmaster of the school as their master because he is the senior staff member. =)  
>Youkai – spirits or demons that are not usually seen by ordinary people. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the Yujincho anime or manga series; I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier or not and I throw that one around all the time).<p>

**Notes:**

*Naruto Manga – The first Naruto Manga wasn't actually released until 1999 but I could not resist having it appear nine years earlier in this story simply because I wanted to insert Hatake Kakashi into the story since the Japanese actor who does the voice for Kakashi is the same actor that does the voice for Madara/Nyanko when he's in his natural form. Don't worry though, I'm not going to draw the Naruto world into this cross-over… consider Kakashi's appearance in this story as a stunt double – he looks and acts a bit like the real thing but he really isn't and will often be OOC when compared to the real Kakashi. =)

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Now… before I am tied to the stake and flamed for Ryuu's reactions/behavior here; please remember that he has just been forcibly shoved outside of his comfort zone and separated from the one person he saw as his personal savoir for the first time in three years. He won't constantly be a frightened rabbit but he will need some time to adjust. The next chapter will pick up from where this one left off, continuing to follow Ryuu over the course of his first day of classes. _

**09-01-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas as well as breaking a few paragraphs down so as to improve readability._ _Kakashi's description was also changed slightly to make him appear a bit more different than Naruto's Kakashi._


	13. The Science of Magic is an Illusion

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 12: The Science of Magic is an Illusion<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu  
>Hokkaido Island, Japan<br>All Day, Monday July 02, 1990_

Introduction to Cultural Studies was taught by a stately wizard, whose age was not readily apparent, by the name of Ishikawa Norio. He was a strict teacher and he demanded both respect and self discipline from all of the students. His voice demanded the full attention of his students as he opened the class with a short lecture on what the students were expected to learn over the course of the summer.

"I am here to teach you how to integrate yourself into the magical society without blundering about like a bull in a china store. You are here to learn our history, laws, and traditions as well as those of the various magical societies spread throughout the world. When you leave at the end of the summer I fully expect each and every one of you to know what the wizarding world expects of you as a citizen and what responsibilities you will hold as young students just entering the world. We will begin your education with an overview of the history of magic as it applies to Japan; please open your textbooks to page twenty-three."

The rest of that double period was spent learning about the roles of witches and wizards during the early imperial dynasties and the views of the general population in regards to magic and magic users. Ryuu was fascinated by the obvious similarities between wizarding history and non-wizarding folk lore and he wondered if his father had noticed it as well. Ishikawa-sensei instructed them to read the next chapter in their textbooks when they were dismissed at the end of class.

Lunch was slightly more pleasant than breakfast as fewer students were casting looks in Ryuu's direction, though a number of the staff still studied him over their plates throughout the meal. The meal would have been just a bit more peaceful if Maruyama hadn't hounded Ryuu about his disappearing act during breakfast, the older boy patiently reminding Ryuu that he'd been assigned as his guide during the first week of classes. Ryuu did his best to ignore the other boy as he was far more comfortable fending for himself when it came to academic matters.

After lunch was over, Kimura-sensei collected Ryuu from the cafeteria and led him down to one of the training rooms in the basement where Ryuu could train safely without fear of any uncontrolled outbursts of magic damaging the school or injuring another student. The instructor ordered Ryuu to place his backpack in a locker just outside of the room and leave his familiars in one of the cages provided for pets beside the lockers.

Ryuu glanced around the training room curiously as they stepped inside, taking in the reinforced steel walls, the contradicting softness of the stone floor beneath his feet, and the glowing panels on the ceiling that provided light. He was instructed to sit down in the center of the room as his instructor closed and locked the door to prevent any interruptions (something that left Ryuu feeling more than a little uncomfortable) before the man joined Ryuu on the floor.

"Until you've learned how to harness and control your magic consistently enough to avoid potential explosions and magical backlashes we will be holding your Silent Spell Casting training down here where there are several layers of defensive and protective wards to prevent any accidents from affecting the rest of the school," Kimura-sensei explained as he gestured to the empty room. "As you can see there is nothing in this room that can be turned into a weapon by wild or uncontrolled magic; one of the reasons why you were not allowed to bring your things or your familiars into the room. Do you have your wand on you?"

Ryuu shook his head no; his wand was currently in his backpack as they'd been told during their orientation the night before that they were not allowed to carry it on their person (meaning they couldn't carry the wand where they might be tempted to draw the wand such as in a holster or pocket) or use it without supervision until given permission by one of the instructors.

"Good. Before we begin, I will offer you a word of advice; do not expect to see results immediately as what I am going to teach you will require months if not years of hard work on your part. Most students are not taught silent spell casting until they reach their sixth or seventh year because they lack both the mental discipline and the magical control to direct their magic with just a thought. Unfortunately, your disability puts you at a disadvantage because you will not have five or six years to develop the discipline or control. Another hindrance is your magical index level; as an untrained level ninety wizard you're going to find it extremely difficult to control your magic in the beginning because of the sheer volume of magic packed inside your core."

"Do you understand everything so far? (Ryuu nodded once.) Good, please stop me if you do become confused at any point. I am unable to read sign, something I plan on correcting before the end of the summer, but if you let me know the minute I say something you don't understand I can at least guess what part you are having trouble with and we can go from there. Returning to our discussion; we've already established that the absence of your voice, your lack of adequate experience, and the high level of raw magic you have available are all working against you at this point."

"Individually, those issues are difficult enough to work through but when combined they make for a seemingly insurmountable obstacle when it comes to casting even the simplest spell. However, it is my job to help you overcome those rather formidable obstacles. The first step is to gain an understanding of how spells work in general; some of which you will learn in your Spell Casting class later this afternoon. I'm not talking about the theory or principle behind the various branches of magic or spell groups; I'm talking about the basic mechanics behind casting spells. Are you following me so far?"

Ryuu frowned and tilted his head to one side as he thought through what Kimura-sensei just told him and slowly nodded an affirmative.

"Good. Now the first thing you need to know is that all spells are broken down into two basic categories; active or passive. Active magic includes spells that produce immediate effects or require a constant source of magic in order to function; a few examples would be a color changing spell, a tripping jinx, the levitation charm, or the portal you used to travel between your home and the Academy."

"Passive magic is made up of those spells that do not produce immediate results or that require a person to initiate the reaction. Examples of passive magic include healing potions, defensive wards, monitoring charms, and some of the counter spells such as _Finite Incantatem_ which cancels the effects of an active spell. Ninety-two percent of all spells are classified as active magic and eighty-six percent of all potions are considered passive magic."

"We are going to concentrate on the wanded spells that are categorized as active magic for the moment as they are the most relevant to your current situation. Only five percent of all active spells require verbalization in order to cast them properly; that's not to say they _can't_ be cast silently, because they can, but they will lose power, focus, and structure when cast silently. There are only a small number of spells that are impossible to cast silently; one such example is the Riddikulus Spell used to banish boggarts which requires verbal laughter to complete the spell."

"Two percent of the active spells can only be cast silently; in those cases those spells don't work as designed when cast verbally. A strong enough wizard with near perfect control over his magic can negate the degradation inherent in those spells that require verbalization when casting those spells nonverbally. Conversely, it doesn't matter how powerful a wizard is when it comes to verbalizing the handful of spells that require complete silence since the vibrations of the spoken incantation interfere with the spell."

"The remaining eighty-five percent of the spells categorized as active magic may be cast either verbally or nonverbally with near identical results though a wizard with poor control will find his nonverbal spells lack the same power as his spoken spells. The three main components required for successfully casting the majority of spells in existence are; a magical core, a focus (usually a wand), and a strong visualization of the spell being cast. Since most young witches and wizards lack the ability to properly visualize the effects of a spell, wand movements and incantations are used to aide the child by giving them something to focus their mind on during the casting of the spell. Still with me? Good."

"Now we come to the first roadblock in your way; verbal incantations. The majority of new witches and wizards here in Japan are taught proper pronunciation in the Spell Casting class we offer during summer sessions or at home by their parents. And while you will be taking those lessons alongside your classmates, we have no way to gauge your progress; which means we can't tell if you are silently pronouncing the incantations properly or not. That is a huge problem because any variations in the incantation can lead to potentially fatal accidents."

"Basically, it means that you are not going to be able to use the various incantations when silently casting because of the high potential of injuring yourself or your classmates. That doesn't, however, mean that you don't have to learn the various incantations because you do. If only so you will recognize both the incantation and the spell in the event that you are attacked by another wizard or if you are being tested on your knowledge of spells. You will have to learn to separate the incantation from the wand movements when casting though and that is not going to be an easy task since the wand movements are tailored to the incantation which is linked to the spell itself."

"No need to look so stricken, Natsume-kun, you are hardly the first non-speaking wizard in the world; which means it can be done. It's just going to take a lot of hard work on your part. We will start by focusing on increasing your level of mental discipline. Are you familiar with the art of meditation? Good. Are you able to clear your mind?"

Ryuu held up his left hand and rotated his wrist back and forth indicating that his ability to clear his mind was only so-so. He then pantomimed that he was easily distracted by sounds, smells, sights, and the presence of other people. It took several minutes to convey those ideas to his sensei though because he didn't have anything to write on and the man already said he didn't know sign language. The lesson ended shortly after that (about five minutes later than it should have) and he was told to read through the first chapter of both meditation guides that he'd checked out the evening before, write out a list of questions (if any) he had about everything he'd learned that afternoon, and to practice clearing his mind during the evening meditation.

Mind swirling with all of the information he'd just been given, Ryuu stumbled out of the room in a daze and gathered up his backpack and familiars on autopilot before following Kimura-sensei back up to the ground level of the castle. He barely made it to his next class on time, walking into the room mere seconds before the gong rang signaling the start of class and he cringed the moment he realized the only open seat was in the first row of the class. His face flushed red in embarrassment as he slunk through the rows of desks to reach the only available seat, the feeling of twenty-three pairs of eyes watching him making his skin crawl.

"So good of you to join us," the instructor dryly commented once he was seated. "I am Mori Youta. You may call me Mori-sensei or simply sensei or for those of you who fail to pay attention in this class; you will call me your worst nightmare. I will be the one to decide whether or not you earn the right to carry a wand. Fail my class and you might as well kiss your wand goodbye; so I suggest you all show up to class on time and pay close attention during my lectures. Understand?"

The entire class swallowed and nodded their heads dutifully as they stared wide-eyed at their sensei.

"See to it that you don't forget! Now, everyone take out your copy of Watanabe's Theory of Magic and open it to chapter one. We'll be starting with the definition and classification of magic."

Ryuu's mind, already crammed full from his earlier classes and extra lesson, was growing dangerously close to overloading with the sheer volume of knowledge Mori-sensei was trying to cram into their brains during the first hour of the double period. A few discreet glances at the book proved that ninety-percent of the instructor's lesson was directly out of the current chapter they were covering. It was that other ten percent that was giving Ryuu hassles though; since he had to focus on the entire lecture to pick up the extra bits that were interspersed with the information from the book. His only consolation was that his fellow students seemed to be having the same trouble if the glazed looks on their faces were any indication.

Eventually, the first session students were give a bit of a break at the one hour mark when their teacher began passing each of them a fifteen inch long box that was an inch wide and an inch deep. Inside of the box was a twelve inch bamboo rod with an iron graphite core fastened to a two and a half inch handle made of iron. The Training Wands, like the Training Points they were given during Calligraphy that morning, would grow warm when you made a mistake and grow cold when you held it correctly or performed the required wand movement correctly.

"As many of you have already figured out, the Training Wands function much as the Training Points you were no doubt issued this morning. The movements ingrained within the iron handle are as follows; flick, jab, slice, slash, swish, and twirl. It will also recognize the three basic grips; firm, loose, and fingertip. They can also be used to teach you the proper way to polish and clean your wand. They can not, however, be used to cast spells because they are physically unable to draw upon the magic in your core."

"Please pick up your Training Wand, if you haven't already, and place the rounded end of the handle in the center of the palm on your dominate hand so that the bamboo rod runs along your index finger. Now curl your pinky, ring, and middle fingers around the handle while placing your thumb flat against the handle directly beside your index finger; if the handle of your Training Wand is cool to the touch you are now gripping your wand firmly. If the handle is growing warm you are doing it wrong. Once you are correctly holding your wand, raise your hand."

Once everyone had corrected their grip, they moved on to practicing the loose grip, which involved wrapping the index and thumb finger around the handle so that the wand was held in a loose fist. The differences between the two grips were that a wand loosely gripped could easily be summoned or physically removed from a person's hand while it was harder to take a firmly gripped wand. A firm grip also allowed for more rigid wand movements while the loose grip was used for wide, sweeping movements that were designed to encompass larger field. The fingertip hold on the other hand placed the wand between the index and middle fingers with the thumb holding it in place and was designed to be used for detailed wand movements that were mostly associated with transfiguration.

"Moving on to the basic wand movements; we'll start with the flick, which is also sometimes referred to as a snapping motion. The range of displacement of the wand tip created by the movement should be no greater then two inches. The movement originates in the wrist and is predominantly a vertical motion though it can be done horizontally or diagonally as well in order to link the movement with another movement. For now, I want you to focus on making your flick a short, sharp, upward motion. Try not to become too overzealous in the snap of the wrist though because you run the risk of spraining your wrist or poking your eye out if you make a mistake."

"Next is the jab, which is another short, sharp motion; this one reaching forward. A jab is usually the last movement in a spell sequence as it is used to direct or aim your spell. The wand tip should cut forward no more than an inch or two; otherwise you will overbalance yourself and fall flat on your face. The wand tip should remain in line with the handle and your wrist as you thrust it forward. Raise your hand if you are having difficulties getting the jab or the flick and I will come around and make corrections."

Ryuu practiced a couple of more times while the instructor was helping those that were having trouble before he turned his attention to the book in order to skim through the chapter they had covered earlier in the class to make certain he hadn't missed anything. As he read, he made certain to check the teacher's progress through the room so he could give the man his complete attention when it came time for them to work on the next movement.

"The last wand movement we will be studying today is the twirl," Mori-sensei intoned as he returned to the front of the classroom. "There are five different types of twirls; an inward spiral, an outward spiral, circular, elliptical, and an oval. The spiral twirl is made up of a circular motion that either grows larger or grows smaller from the point of origin and is the only twirling motion where the wand does not start and stop on the same path. The circular motion is the most difficult twirl to perform correctly since humans do not posses the ability to draw perfect circles unaided. The best way to practice drawing a circle with your Training Wand is to run the tip of the wand around the inside of a brass ring until you can approximate the motion unaided."

A flick of the instructor's wand delivered a three inch brass ring to each student even as he continued his lecture on the types of twirling motions.

"Elliptical and oval twirls are virtually the same movement. The difference lies in the orientation of the imperfect circle. An oval twirl is always taller than it wide and an elliptical twirl is always wider than it is tall. To help you remember the difference, the word ellipse stretches your mouth out in a smile when you say it and the word oval forms a small circle. Your homework this evening is to practice the three wand movements we covered in class and to read through chapter two in your textbooks. Class dismissed. Natsume-kun, please stay behind a moment. I wish to speak with you."

Ryuu sighed and nodded as he packed up everything but his marker and whiteboard and remained in his seat while the rest of his class filed out of the room. He really disliked being singled out and it seemed as if he'd been nothing but singled out from the moment Headmaster Yamamoto turned up at his house the week before. Feeling more than a touch resentful and frustrated, Ryuu slouched down in his chair and glared at his desk while he listened to the footsteps of his peers exiting the room.

"I would like for you to explain to me why you were late," Mori-sensei demanded as he stepped in front of Ryuu's desk.

Picking up his marker, Ryuu scribbled out; _My tutoring session with Kimura-sensei ran late because we were having a bit of a communication problem and I had to wait for him to escort me out of the basement training room because summer students are not allowed on the basement level without an escort._

"I see… What exactly is Kimura-senpai tutoring you in that requires the use of one of the specialized training rooms?"

_Silent spell casting, sensei._

"That normally wouldn't require use of the lower training rooms. Did he give you a reason why you were using a shielded training room?"

Ryuu pursed his lips as he wiped the board clean as he contemplated how to answer that question before writing out, _He said we would be using the shielded training room until I knew how to harness and control my magic consistently. Something about protecting the rest of the school from the backlash should I lose control?_

"That doesn't make any sense… unless… do you know what your magical index rating is?"

Ryuu frowned as he glanced up at the wizard in front of him. He clearly remembered his father and several other people telling him that he was not supposed to talk about his magical index because if his index rating became public knowledge he could face prosecution and character assassination because most people would fear his potential. After a little hesitation, Ryuu erased his previous response and wrote, _Yes, I know my index level but I was told not to discuss it with anyone._

"There are only two reasons why a person would be advised against sharing their index rating. It is either so low as to be near squib levels or it is high enough to incite fear in the general public," Mori-sensei mused as he eyed Ryuu carefully. "No matter; I can always petition Yamamoto-shishou if your level begins to interfere with your spell casting no matter which end of the spectrum it lies at. I will also speak with Kimura-senpai about making certain he releases you on time or possibly changing your schedule if the timing continues to be an issue. I will not assign you a detention this time but see to it you are not late again. You may go, Natsume-kun."

Ryuu bowed and darted out of the classroom before his sensei could change his mind. Both of his familiars protested the rather reckless dash but he ignored them until he was safely on the staircase leading up to the dorms. A quick glance at the clock hanging over the third floor landing exit let him know he'd lost a good fifteen minutes of his study period due to Mori-sensei holding him back and he groaned since he'd already lost an entire period due to the Silent Spell Casting session. If this kept up he was going to perpetually be behind on his daily assignments.

Irritated over the direction his thoughts were going, Ryuu made his way to the dorm room he shared with Maruyama and dropped his backpack on his desk, left a small offering of a snow pea at his shrine, and climbed up onto the top bunk of bed. He never saw the startled look that his roommate gave him as he pulled his covers up over his head and ignored the ruckus his two familiars began making over being dislodged from their claimed perches on his shoulders. He probably would have remained hidden for the rest of the night if not for Maruyama reminding him that they had Advanced Music next, which startled Ryuu enough that he peeked out from under his blanket to find the fourth year holding an instrument case that was slightly smaller than Ryuu's flute case.

"Clarinet," Maruyama declared when he saw Ryuu's curious look. "I also play piano but those are a little hard to lug around between classes."

Ryuu would have snorted if he could at the rather lame joke and rolled his eyes as he reluctantly climbed out his bed and dug out his flute case from inside of his wardrobe. Together they made their way up to the fourth floor where Maruyama led Ryuu to a different music room than the one they'd visited the night before. He wasn't really surprised to find that their instructor was the same woman who'd tested him the night before though he would have preferred it to have been someone else because she intimidated him. She'd been introduced the night before but Ryuu couldn't recall what her name was.

"Konbanwa, class. As you can see there are a handful of new faces joining us this session; including, I'm pleased to say, a young flutist. Those of you who were hoping to form quartets this year will have to get my approval first if you intend to use pieces geared towards the various flutes since there is only one flutist in the advanced class at this time. That said; I want to spend the rest of this class reviewing the pieces we covered last summer so we can get back into the habit of harmonizing with each other instead of trying to all go solo at the same time."

"Natsume, your seat is off with the rest of the wind instruments on the left side of the room and I would like you to use the western flute. Maruyama, please take the piano for the time being. Haruno, will you pass out the sheet music to those who were not in this class last year? You'll need one flute, one for the young lady with the drums, two for our cellists, and one for the tuba player in the back. Everyone else get warming up, you've got ten minutes before we start."

Ryuu pulled out the parts to his silver flute and quickly assembled the instrument, running a cleaning cloth down the inner chamber out of habit before he quickly ran through his scales once. All around him he could hear the sound of those students playing string tuning their instruments while those in the wind and brass sections ran through their scales. He heard a couple of drum beats ring out alongside the crisp clear notes of a piano which could only be Maruyama.

When he received a copy of the score that they would be working on during the rest of the class, Ryuu began softly working his way through his part to familiarize himself with the music. It was one of the more well known symphonies composed by Mozart so he had at least heard the piece before and knew about what it should sound like. He was more than a little nervous though because he'd never played as part of a band or orchestra before let alone played a simple duet. All of the music he'd played up to this point had been solos unless he counted those pieces that Taki or his family would sing along with when he played.

"All right everyone, instruments at the ready and eyes on me."

A shiver traced down Ryuu's spine as Maruyama opened the piece on the piano. The string section joined in after the fourth bar with the brass and half of the wind sections picking up the melody a bar later. Then it was Ryuu's turn to join in and his heart nearly lodged in his throat as he piped out those first few notes. By the third bar he was feeling a little lightheaded but not quite as nervous as he allowed the music to sweep him away. He didn't play his part perfectly, dropping a note here and there and either dragging or clipping another every so often, but overall he didn't do too badly considering it had been his first time playing that particular piece and the first time he'd played in a group setting.

"Not bad… a little sloppy and disjointed… but overall not bad," their sensei declared when the song was over and they were allowed to lower their instruments. "Natsume, you floundered there at the start and again towards the end but I am impressed that you managed to keep up as well as you did. One of our violins needs a tuning; I heard a cat screeching more than once. Maruyama, switch out with Robinson and take a seat next to Natsume. Chang, you need to play a touch less forcefully, you're drowning out the strings with that trombone braying like a donkey each time you enter. I want to run through the piece again from bars twenty-six through forty-one, piano lead in from bar twenty-two with strings joining in on twenty-six… the rest of you keep quiet until it's your turn."

Ryuu brought his flute up to sit against the bottom of his chin, intent on at least fingering his part even if he wasn't required to play. He needed all of the practice he could get and he would only grow antsy if he didn't keep himself occupied while he waited for his turn to play again. His turn came far sooner then expected as their instructor called for yet another piano player to switch out and prepare to start from the first bar with the wind section joining in shortly after.

He had an easier time falling into his part this time since he'd been able to relax a bit but he still started off shaky as he could feel a number of people watching him. Each successive run had him feeling just that much more comfortable with his part though any time he was singled out he still got a case of nerves since many of his fellow musicians would turn to watch him as he played. After the entire class ran through the score two more times with far fewer mistakes than the first time they played the piece, the music instructor dismissed them after telling them to practice their parts with at least one other person before class the next day.

Ryuu would have preferred just practicing alone but he understood the necessity of practicing with a partner since the piece they were doing was an orchestral piece and not a solo. Still, it would mean he would have to actually approach someone to see if they'd be willing to practice with him and he found himself almost wishing he'd chosen a different elective. What he hadn't anticipated was a third of the class coming up to him the instant they were dismissed; each one of them intent on persuading him to practice with them that evening.

Unused to being on the receiving end of such focused attention and feeling trapped by the press of bodies, Ryuu did the only thing he could think of; he abandoned his instruments and fled the room. Not wanting to chance being followed, he completely bypassed the dorm rooms on the third floor and the cafeteria on the second floor. In fact, he didn't even bother staying inside of the castle; his feet taking him down to the first floor and out the main entrance without any conscious direction on his part. Once he was outside, he didn't hesitate to continue down the long series of stairs that lead down to the base of the cliff; part of him desperately wanting nothing more than to go home.

His panicked flight came to an abrupt end when he reached the empty guard house at the bottom of the cliff and found his way forward blocked by a barrier that was designed to prevent students from wandering off and to ward off uninvited guests. Ryuu stared off down the path that led to the portal that had brought him to the school longingly for several minutes before he turned to his left and began running along the edge of the barrier, looking for an opening or failing that a hiding place where he'd be safe.

After a while, he stumbled across an old abandoned temple about a mile away from the guardhouse and without any hesitation he cautiously crept through the rubble and headed inside what remained of the main building seeking protection from any youkai that might stumble across him out in the open. Old habits had him searching out the smallest possible cubby hole that he could hide inside and he was soon curled up inside a stone pit beneath the alter on the dais.

Eventually, his panic began slowly subsiding though he still wished he could go home. After a while he fell asleep with the rising of the moon, completely unaware of the chaos he'd created at the castle in the wake of his panicked flight.

* * *

><p>Kakashi hovered in the shadows near his office as a large group of students passed by him on their way to the cafeteria for supper. As he waited for the hall to clear, he couldn't help but overhear the latest gossip; which seemed to revolve around the rather mysterious first year, Natsume Ryuu. Apparently the kid had been drawing attention to himself since the moment he had arrived and if Kakashi had read the kid right he wasn't at all happy with all of that attention. In fact, Kakashi had the kid pegged as an overly timid introvert with little to no experience socializing with his peers.<p>

The forty year old martial arts instructor was rather abruptly pulled out of his musings when he overheard one of the older students jabbering on about the runty first year bolting out of music class in an absolute panic. Alarm bells started ringing in Kakashi's head as the young man relayed the story of the kid's reaction to being hounded by a bunch of other students wanting to practice with him because he was the only flute player in the advanced class. The news that the first year in question had abandoned his instruments in favor of fleeing had Kakashi moving before he had even heard the end of the story, his feet taking him to the stairs leading up to the upper floors so he could speak with Chikafuji Hisako, the instructor for the advanced music class.

Instead of his fellow teacher, he found a frowning Maruyama Satoshi; the fourth year that had been assigned to help the young Natsume settle in due to his partial knowledge of sign language and his friendly and outgoing nature. The boy was currently carrying two instrument cases, one of which had Natsume's name stamped on the brass plate just above the handle.

"Maruyama-kun, is there any truth in the rumors that Natsume-kun pulled a runner?"

"Hai, Hatake-sensei. Near half the class swarmed him after class and he bolted in a blind panic. He even left behind his flutes; which seems a bit odd since, based on the condition said instruments are kept in, it would appear that they are very important to him. The fact that he is adept at playing each of the flutes he has in his possession supports that hypothesis."

"He'd been acting jumpy all day from what I observed; he was very skittish after martial arts this morning, he bolted before he finished his breakfast, barely bothered to eat lunch, didn't show up for the first afternoon study session, and when he returned to the dorm for the second study period he was close to a half an hour late. In fact, he didn't even bother studying; he just dumped his bag, brushed off his familiars, crawled up onto his bed, and hid under the covers the entire time. If I hadn't coaxed him down by reminding him we had music class I think he'd still be hiding in bed."

"Did you see which way he went when he left class just now?"

"No, sensei; by the time I made it out of the classroom he was long gone. He might have returned to our room; do you want me to check and see if he's there? I have to drop our instruments off there anyway."

"Yes and let me know right away whether he is there or not. I'm going to speak with Chikafuji-senpai right now and then I'll head down to the cafeteria because I want to check with his other instructors. If you can't find me please let Yamamoto-shishou whether you've found Natsume or not."

"Hai, sensei."

Kakashi watched the young man disappear before he continued on his way to the advanced music room where he found the door locked; indicating that he'd missed Chikafuji at some point. Cursing his luck, or lack there of, Kakashi turned around and retraced his steps to the second floor where he did a quick sweep of the staff offices in search of one of the dozen or so instructors that he knew were assigned to teach the first session students that summer. When he couldn't find any of them he headed to the cafeteria where he paused just outside of the double doors as he took a moment to determine if he was possibly over reacting to the news about the kid bolting.

_The kid flinches and reacts defensively when he's touched unexpectedly, doesn't appear to know how to interact with his classmates, automatically assumes the worst when he's singled out, and he completely flipped out last night when the samurai appeared in the Headmaster's office_, Kakashi thought to himself._ Not only did I have to subdue him after he lashed out when I stepped in to prevent him from fleeing in his panic but I was on the receiving end of some pretty potent accidental magic for doing so. _

_He seemed overly shocked that Yamamoto-shishou could see the ghost and obviously doubted the headmaster's word that the ghosts that inhabit the school won't hurt him. He's also been acting flighty all morning according to Maruyama-kun who's a fairly good judge of character and he fled in a panic when overwhelmed by his classmates._

Nodding to himself, Kakashi threw the doors of the cafeteria open with a bit more force than necessary, drawing the attention of everyone inside of the vast room. A quick scan of the tables confirmed that the Natsume boy had not turned up for supper. Striding up to the staff table, Kakashi made eye contact with Kichida Shuichi (the beginning hapkido instructor) and Kimura Fumio (who he knew was tutoring the first year in silent spell casting) and gestured for the two of them to join him as he made a beeline to Chikafuji who was sitting in her usual seat. As they gathered around the now flustered music teacher, Kakashi cut right to the chase.

"Natsume Ryuu," Kakashi drawled. "Rumor states he fled your classroom in a complete panic, Chikafuji-senpai. Do you know why? Or better yet, do you know which direction he was headed?"

"Yes he ran out after several of the students began clamoring for him to practice with them. I don't know why he panicked but he'd been jumpy and nervous almost all class; to the point where his level of proficiency took a serious nose dive when compared to how well he'd played during the assessments yesterday. No I did not see which way he went."

"You two also spent time with Natsume-kun, did either of you notice anything off in his behavior?"

"He avoided interacting with the other students in the dojo this morning, hovering near the back of the room well away from the majority of the students. He also seemed a little pale but since he had no trouble keeping up with the katas I was covering during the lesson, I didn't think anything of it," Kichida stated simply with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Kimura-senpai?"

"He was jumpy when I collected him after lunch and he was very hesitant during the first half of the lesson. His attention never wavered once though and unless he wasn't being honest with me he had no trouble following my lecture. We had a bit of a problem communicating when we started discussing mediation but that was expected because I had him leave his things outside the training room and I have not yet learned to read sign."

"Kimura-senpai, I have a bone to pick with you," Mori Youta declared as he marched up to the group and interrupted them without a care. "If you insist on providing extra lessons to the Natsume gaki you need to pay closer attention to the time. The boy barely made it into the classroom before the gong sounded and I refuse to plan my lecture around the presence of a single child just because you loose track of time. I'd been half tempted to assign the boy a detention when I held him back after class to find out why he'd been late."

"Well that explains why he showed up for his study period so late…" Kakashi drawled as he half glared at the older instructor. "How did he react to you keeping him behind after class and did you notice anything off about his behavior during class?"

"There were a couple of times I couldn't tell if he was paying attention during my lecture on theory but he had no problems during the practical portion of the class. As for his behavior when I asked him to stay behind he seemed… resigned as if he fully expected to be punished though I'd never explicitly said he would be. He wrote out his replies without too much hesitation though he got all tense after he explained the reason for the extra lessons and I asked him about his magical index. He fairly bolted out of the room after that, once I'd dismissed him. Brat had the gall to tell me he couldn't tell me his index scores so I assumed he's sitting just above squib level and told him not to be late again."

"Kuso," Kakashi practically growled, shocking his fellow instructors because he rarely ever cursed.

"Hatake-sensei!"

"Nani, Maruyama?" Kakashi barked as he half turned to face the panting fourth year that had just addressed him; his eyes registering the fresh scratches on the boy's face and the tears on his formerly pristine uniform.

"Natsume's not in our dorm and his familiars were going berserk. The owl managed to slip out of the room but I caught the kitten before it could escape."

Kakashi gave the teen a blank stare for a full minute before he began cursing up a blue streak. He then abruptly turned away from the small gathering and exited the cafeteria and headed up to the third floor to retrieve the cat familiar of the missing first year, hoping that the bond between familiar and boy could lead him to the boy's current location. The first snag in his plan turned up when he finally located the dorm room that Natsume shared with Maruyama and discovered a kitten sized hole in the right hand corner of the door; the damn cat had either clawed, chewed, or cursed its way out.

That made Kakashi pause as the only felines he knew that were capable of actively using magic were sphinxes, griffins, kneazles, and nundu. He couldn't remember what kind of cat the kid had though because he had been more interested in assessing the ten year old than he had been about studying the two familiars. Out of the four magical cat species he could recall; the first two were only loosely related to feline family, the third one only had a limited repertoire of magic available to it, and the fourth was considered a deadly threat and rarely ever found outside of East Africa.

The only way a nundu could have made it into Japan was through the black market and Kakashi doubted the kid's father would have shelled out the millions of ryō that a smuggled nundu kitten would have cost regardless of the presence of a familiar bond; which meant the kitten was either a full blooded kneazle or a kneazle mix as none of the other three magical species were able to produce viable off-spring with a normal cat. All of that ran through Kakashi's mind in a matter of seconds as he knelt down to examine the makeshift cat door, noting the long slivers of wood scattered just inside the room which lent credence to the idea that the cat had clawed or chewed its way out of the room.

Possibly with the help of the owl given the size of some of the pieces; meaning that the two animals had been working on breaking free for quite some time. _Had they been upset at being left behind when Natsume attended music class?_ It was a distinct possibility; and the fact that the boy was still adjusting to the newly formed bonds meant that he wasn't used to the animals' constant presence so their absence wouldn't have immediately been noted.

Kakashi finally drew his wand and sent a silently summoning spell into the room in the hopes that there'd be a few cat hairs or a feather or two floating around the room. No such luck. The school's house elves had either already vanished the stray hairs and feathers or the animals in question hadn't spent enough time in the room to shed or molt. There was also the fact that both bird and cat were young so they might not have started molting and shedding respectfully.

Trying another tactic, Kakashi cast a simple tracking spell and watched as the entire hallway lit up with a pale blue light; there were far too many tracks to pick out a single set of paw prints. Growling with frustration, Kakashi tried a simple Point Me spell in the hopes that he could at least determine the general direction in which the boy had gone only for his wand to flip out of his hand and bounce on the floor; indicating that the spell couldn't pinpoint the boy's location.

"The kid's only been here for one night, if he was panicking where would he go? He doesn't know the school that well and he didn't return to his room," Kakashi muttered to himself as he made his way back to the staircase. "If I was frightened and in a strange place; the first place I'd want to go was home. But will he be thinking coherently if he's panicking? Only one to find out."

With a vague idea of where he needed to start, Kakashi headed back down the stairs towards the first floor where he ran into Headmaster Yamamoto and Kimura who'd been on their way up to see if Kakashi had had any luck in tracking the missing boy. His colleagues fell into step beside him as Kakashi reported the escape of the cat and his deductions based upon what little he knew of the boy and simple logic. Yamamoto confirmed that the barrier had not been breached so if the boy had fled outside he'd still be within the grounds and fairly safe.

The problem was that the grounds were extensive and there were old ruins, subterranean caves, hidden cliffs, a raging river with a thirty-foot waterfall, and numerous wild animals of both the magical and non-magical variety. The Headmaster when on to state that he had not heard from any of the security guards that monitored the barrier but if they had been making their rounds they would not have seen him approach the guardhouse which meant the ten year old could conceivably still be somewhere out on the grounds.

Yamamoto parted ways with the two instructors at the main entrance, the Headmaster heading back inside to organize the staff and older students in order to search the castle while the two teachers headed outside to see if they could spot the missing boy or pick up his trail. Kakashi led the way down the stairs, his eyes searching for any sign that the boy had passed that way; Kimura silently following a few feet behind holding his lit wand so as not to get in his way and provide them enough light to see by.

The two of them came upon a plaintively crying kitten about halfway down the cliff side which Kimura immediately recognized as Natsume's familiar, the tufted tail a dead giveaway (and identifying it as a purebred kneazle). Kakashi paused long enough to pick the distraught kitten up before he continued heading down the stairs; casting the bond detection spell as he moved. A single pale thread shimmered into view and snaked off towards the north for two feet before it abruptly ended; looking as if it had been severed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kakashi practically snarled as he stumbled to a stop and stared at the shortened thread. The only answer he received was a grief filled yowl from the kitten who was now hanging limply in his hand.

"Something has interfered with the familiar bond," Kimura quietly stated as he took the cat from Kakashi and cradled it in the crook of his arm. "Chances are the owl is in a similar state of distress if it was unable to reach Natsume-kun before the connection was blocked. It hasn't been severed or shredded otherwise the kitten would be dead from the shock or it would be catatonic in its grief. There are very few things that can interfere with a familiar bond; most of them involve wards that separate the wizard or witch from their familiar and dark spells that affect the mind or disrupt a person's magic. Keep an eye out for the owl; it will be vulnerable to the school's thestrals and the other wild predators in the area if it is caught in a similar state."

Kakashi didn't bother giving his fellow instructor a response as he once more started down the stairs. It took them another twenty-three minutes to reach the base of the cliff and by that time the kitten had ceased crying completely. They caught their first break when they found a clear trail heading off to the north, the tracks about the right size for a smaller than average not quite ten year old boy.

Kakashi had been correct when he'd hypothesized that the kid would try to go home; the mess of footprints lingering in front of the path leading to the portal was evidence that he'd at least contemplated forcing his way out of the barrier. And while a part of Kakashi wanted to stop and study the tracks in order to try and get inside of the kid's head, he knew it was more important to find the kid first. A quick discussion with the guard on duty revealed that the man hadn't seen the kid and had just returned from patrolling along the edge of the barrier off towards the right (the opposite direction that the footprints disappeared in).

Turning left, the two adults continued to follow the ten year old's trail keeping watch for the various animals that made the grounds their home and for the kid's missing owl. When they reached the ruins of the old Shinto shrine that had been destroyed at the end of the twelve century during Hōgen Rebellion when two wizarding clans fought on opposite sides of the rebellion, the two wizards lost Natsume's trail amidst the rubble and stones of the ruins. Cursing once more, Kakashi renewed the bond detection spell and watched the thread reform and snake off in the direction of the ruins before it once again stopped off abruptly. A pitiful hoot drew the attention of the two instructors to the standing half of a broken pillar where a juvenile Ural Owl sat perched on the jagged top of the post.

"Did you want me to return to the castle and alert Yamamoto-shishou that we found (and lost) the boy's trail while you search the ruins for signs of his passing?" Kimura inquired after he'd collected the dejected owl from the top of the post.

"Hai. He'll need to call off the search of the castle since we've got proof that the child made it this far. Have whoever he sends out to help search bring lanterns so we'll have enough light to search without tying up our wands needlessly."

"Here, keep Natsume's owl with you since he's still coherent enough to help you if what ever is blocking the bond is broken. I'll be back with help as soon as I can."

Kakashi nodded as he collected the half grown owl and shifted him to his shoulder as he watched his colleague apparate back up to the castle. He then began casting about the ruins for traces of the boy's trail after reluctantly lighting the tip of his wand so he could avoid tripping over many scattered stones. He couldn't quite understand how the boy had managed to avoid leaving some sign of his passing over the mossy stones when he'd left such a clear trail up to that point. He tried casting the Point Me spell once again only to get the same result as when he'd cast it the first time. The tracking spell he used to try and pick up the kid's tracks worked about as well due to the dozens of wild animal tracks that crisscrossed the entire area.

_If he was still running in a blind panic he should have left some evidence of his passing, unless he was no longer panicking, _Kakashi mused as he swept the area surrounding the post where the owl had been found. _Was this a calculated run and not a panicked flight? At what point did he stop panicking? Why would he not return to the castle once he'd regained some semblance of control of his thoughts and fears? What exactly was it that triggered his initial panic? What drew him to these ruins?_

The sound of several cracks cutting through the night air had the martial arts instructor whipping his wand up defensively and crouching low as he spun around to search the immediate area, one hand steadying the owl as it nearly lost its balance. When his eyes fell on a group of his colleagues carrying several unlit lanterns he relaxed and rose back up onto his feet as he relit his wand to get their attention.

"I have been unable to pick up Natsume's trail amidst the stones," Kakashi declared grimly as the seven witches and wizards gathered around him as they used their wands to light the lanterns, Kimura passing an extra one to Kakashi so he could free up his wand. "We'll need to spread out and search the entire ruins, paying special attention to any underground store rooms or caves he might have fallen into. We'll start with the surrounding grounds, working our way around the buildings in a two mile perimeter before even attempting to search inside of the buildings since they are unstable and could collapse at any moment. If you find any sign of the boy's passing give a whistle so we can concentrate our efforts on searching around the portion of the ruins we know he passed through."

"Why haven't you just used the bond the boy has with his familiar to track him?" Kichida inquired in confusion. "You have the kid's owl, why not use him?"

"Something is interfering with the familiar bonds," Kimura replied before Kakashi could open his mouth. "The kitten was near catatonic when I left him with Healer Inoue just now. I think the only reason the owl isn't in a similar state is because the owl is more mature than the kitten and therefore is better able to handle the disruption of the bond."

Dark looks were traded between the instructors at that revelation because it meant the possibility of dark magic being involved. And since they were basically standing on an ancient battlefield, it meant there was a possibility that some leftover curse had been triggered by the boy's presence in the ruins or an old defensive ward that was activated by a burst of accidental magic. A ward whose key would have been lost centuries earlier and would require a team of curse breakers to bring it down which could further destabilize the ruins and potentially bury the still missing boy. Nothing further was said as the eight adults spread out and began systematically searching the ruins. Each of them casting an occasional tracking or location spell without any more luck than Kakashi had when he'd first tried.

After two and a half hours of searching, Kimura finally found evidence of Natsume's passing. It was quite by accident as the man had tripped over an unseen stone and dropped his lantern, which had rolled through the doorway of the main shrine. He'd carefully approached the building to retrieve said lantern when he'd spotted the small hand shaped patch of recently crushed and smeared moss on the stone of the doorway. Letting out a hissing groan, he brought his hand up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that soon had the rest of the instructors converging on his location. More than one of those that had been searching pointlessly through the ruins cursed when Kimura pointed out the handprint and a footprint inside of the building just beyond his downed lantern.

"Kimura and I will head inside to search for Natsume-kun. The rest of you will need to wait out here and be prepared to either reinforce the building should it start shifting or dig us out if it collapses," Kakashi ordered as he ducked down and entered the shrine.

He felt more than heard Kimura join him inside and waited for the man to retrieve his lantern before they slowly worked their way forward, following the small footprints that marred the damp moss that covered the stone floor. A quick glance upwards helped ease a bit of the two wizards' tension as it was revealed that there wasn't much remaining of the roof; the wood having long since rotted through the centuries of neglect or perished in the original fire that had destroyed the shrine. There were still enough standing stone pillars and the walls to contend with should the building collapse but at least they wouldn't have to worry about the ceiling and roof of the two story building burying them.

It was the owl that eventually found the boy's hiding space. The bird had given out a shrill cry of joy before it launched itself off of Kakashi's shoulder and promptly disappeared beneath the altar at the back of the room; the two wizards following a bit more cautiously. Passing Kimura his lantern, Kakashi knelt down peered into a tiny store room that had probably once housed the shrine's valuables and breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the ten year old curled up in the corner apparently sleeping. The juvenile owl was currently sitting on the boy's shoulder nuzzling the boy's face as it made a series of soft, content hoots.

A quick examination of the small storeroom turned up a series of warding runes carved into the top edge of the small space which prevented anything stored inside of the room from being detected by magical means. It was those same wards that had interfered with the familiar bond but didn't prevent the owl from physically hearing the boy's heartbeat once they were close enough to the hidden room. Now they just had to get the kid out so they could take him back up to the castle.

The small room was just deep enough that Kakashi couldn't reach the boy just by reaching in and far too small for the wizard to drop down inside to retrieve him. The wards also prevented them from using magic to either summon or levitate the boy out of his bolt hole which meant that they would have to wake him up. The only problem with that is that the kid might start panicking if they woke him and an outburst of accidental magic could well bring the entire building down around their ears. Kakashi also couldn't help but worry that the boy might not wake at all since the owl's affectionate head butts didn't seem to be drawing any reaction from the kid.

After about twenty minutes of brainstorming, the two wizards slowly began pulling up the stone blocks that made up the floor of the shrine and the lip of the hidden room in the hopes of breaking or disrupting the ward so they could levitate the boy out. It was tedious work because they had to start several feet away from the hidden room because they didn't want to accidentally drop a block on the child since the stones had to be lifted out by hand. By the time they were able to remove a single stone from the edge of the room to create a breach in the wards, both wizards were covered in dirt and stone dust and their fingers were raw where they'd scraped them on the stone blocks as they pulled them out of the floor.

Kimura, having the better control, then levitated Natsume out of the room while Kakashi stood ready to grab the boy once he was clear of the room. A couple of quick diagnostic spells confirmed the boy was unhurt but suffering from a mild case of magical exhaustion which explained why he hadn't woke up at any point after their arrival. With the boy now safely in their possession, the two wizards carefully made their way back out of the shrine, Kimura carrying both lamps since Kakashi had his hands full carrying the kid.

Once they were clear of the building, Kakashi asked those that had remained outside to put up a temporary ward around the building to prevent another student from entering the ruin before he began the long hike back to the castle. He would have apparated back if not for the fact that he was more than a little exhausted himself from the long hours spent hunting down the kid in his arms and the vague concern that the discomfort of apparation would wake the kid and send him into a panic.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>Kuso – Japanese swear word<br>Nani – what

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And that concludes Ryuu's long, stressful first day of school… I had a lot of fun writing these past two chapters because it allowed me to explore the concept of magic and how one would go about performing spells. I based my interpretations of magical theory on science because I see it as being structured even if it doesn't follow the same logic as most sciences would. The next chapter is a bit shorter and will show how Takashi deals with the separation._

**09-20-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	14. The Pain of Separation Anxiety

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 13: The Pain of Separation Anxiety<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>01:55 P.M. Monday July 02, 1990 <em>

Takashi sighed as he changed out of the suit he'd worn to work that day, his thoughts on his absent son as he put on a pair of jeans and pulled on a clean shirt. He'd been working part time at the local psychiatric clinic for the past year and a half in order to acquire the three thousand hours of internship that were required before he could legally open his own practice or apply for a position as a counselor with one of the local schools. He'd originally been offered a full time position but he'd wanted to be home every afternoon when Ryuu got out of school even though that meant his internship would last three years instead of the normal year and a half.

He didn't regret opting out of the full time position; it had given him extra time to spend with his son and a few hours of free time every afternoon to continue working with the youkai. The fact that he wasn't hurting for money had made that decision far more practical since he wouldn't be forced to live from paycheck to paycheck. With Ryuu now spending four days a week boarding at the school Takashi was considering picking up a few extra hours in order to finish his internship before Ryuu would be heading to Scotland to attend Hogwarts so that Takashi could go with his son without jeopardizing his career.

If he started working eight hours a day and went six full days a week instead of just five he could be done in thirty weeks instead of the seventy-two he currently expected to work. Once he had his license it would give him an opportunity to join an existing practice in either England or Scotland in order to keep himself occupied because he had no intention of sending his son halfway around the world alone for ten months out of the year for seven years.

All he would need was a residence somewhere in England or Scotland, a work visa, and a reliable form of transportation to and from work. He knew he could afford to purchase an apartment or home or there was the option of living in one of the handful of properties that the Potters had owned which now belonged to Ryuu. A work visa could easily be had with the help of the goblins or if he applied now he might have one by the time it was time for Ryuu to attend Hogwarts. Transportation could be found or purchased once they arrived.

Nodding to himself, Takashi made a mental note to speak with his supervisor in order to rearrange his schedule to pick up the extra hours. He didn't anticipate any problems since he knew the clinic he worked for was constantly in need of more qualified counselors due to the high number of interns that used their facility for a stepping stone in their own careers. The fact that he'd be willing to continue working at the clinic during the summers once Ryuu started at Hogwarts would be an added incentive for them since they were always short handed during the summer months.

Heading downstairs, Takashi moved passed Ryuu's room and paused when he noticed the door was open. Curious, he stuck his head inside and after a cursory inspection found Nyanko-sensei methodically shredding some of Ryuu's old school assignments while grumbling to himself. Knowing Ryuu would be more than a little upset over the loss and the mess, Takashi stepped inside and extracted the cat. Nyanko promptly began cussing and calling Takashi every name in the book as he struggled to free himself which made the thirty-five year old wonder what was bothering the youkai.

Once he'd tossed the cat out the door, Takashi quickly salvaged what he could of Ryuu's assignments and tossed out the ruined scraps. He then headed back downstairs only to find Nyanko sharpening his claws on the banister of the stairs; something the disguised youkai normally wouldn't do. Bopping the cat on the head, Takashi told him to stop being destructive and watched the youkai slink off down the stairs still cussing and cursing with every breath. When Takashi reached main floor, he found the youkai staring broodingly out the window towards the north and Takashi couldn't help but grin as he realized that the youkai was missing Ryuu far more than he was willing to admit.

Putting his guardian's antics out of his mind, Takashi headed outside to clean up the yard only to be waylaid by Touko-san and asked to go to the store to pick up a few things she needed for supper. While at the store, Takashi ran into Taki and asked her how she was handling her first vacation in three years. Taki laughed and told him that she had been feeling a bit lost all day, turning around constantly expecting Ryuu to be standing there asking her yet another question.

Takashi revealed that Nyanko-sensei had apparently been feeling the same way as the cat had gone a destructive spree and has been acting stranger than usual. After finishing Touko-san's shopping, Takashi invited Taki to join them for supper and felt an unexpected burst of pure joy when she accepted without any hesitation.

"I'm thinking of picking up more hours at the clinic," Takashi mentioned in passing as they walked back to the Fujiwaras.

"Looking for a way to pass the time on the days that Ryuu-kun is at school?"

"In part… I was actually thinking ahead; making plans for when Ryuu will be heading off to Scotland for school. I don't want to send him alone nor do I wish to throw away over fourteen years worth of schooling when I'm so close to obtaining everything I've worked so hard for. I figure if I can finish the required hours for my internship and get a work visa, I can pick up a job with a clinic or private practice in England or Scotland during the months Ryuu is in school and then work at the clinic here during the summer until Ryuu's fifteen and then open my own practice either here or there."

"You'd leave Japan?" Taki asked softly.

"Not permanently… never permanently," Takashi replied equally as soft. "My home is here, my family is here, and my friends are here… but as Dumbledore-sama once reminded me before Ryuu and I left England; Ryuu's heritage is in England and I could never deny my son the opportunity to learn more about that side of his family. His happiness is important to me."

"You know Ryuu would go anywhere and do anything you asked of him," Taki commented as they entered Takashi's yard and headed into the house. "His entire world revolves around you and he looks up to you."

"I sometimes wonder if I've done him a disservice these past three years," Takashi confessed. "If there was something more I could have done to boost his self-confidence. He's grown by leaps and bounds over the years but he's still so introverted and dependent."

"As you said; he's grown in leaps and bounds since you brought him home. He hasn't pulled his vanishing act in well over a year, he stopped fighting his enrollment in public school for the most part, and he no longer grows terrified at the mere mention of stepping outside of the house. He smiles and laughs (soundless though it is) and he's accepted you and the Fujiwaras as his family. He is happy and with time he will continue growing."

"I just wish I could do more for him. I mean he still doesn't have any friends his own age, has difficulty socializing with his peers, and still shies away from physical contact for the most part."

"True; yet from what you told me he spent close to five years hiding himself away in a closet and had very little, if any, contact with other children or people in general. And he has no trouble interacting with you and the Fujiwaras; he even gets along really well with Kaname."

"Don't forget to include yourself in that list; Ryuu does nothing but talk about your lessons once you leave. If he was a little older I'd be tempted to say he was crushing on you."

"Oh, really?" Taki laughed as they headed into the kitchen to give Touko the groceries. "Was that a touch of jealousy I heard in your voice?"

"Who wouldn't be jealous," Takashi countered as a light blush swept across his face. "I mean really, my son gets to spend eight and ten hours a day, six to seven days a week with a beautiful woman and then spends the rest of his time crowing about it."

Taki blushed at the compliment and opened her mouth to make a retort when Touko beat her to it, the older woman smiling mischievously as she took the bag of groceries from her foster son.

"Oh, I don't think you have to worry about Ryuu-kun trying to steal Taki-chan's heart, Takashi-kun," Touko slyly remarked. "I know for a fact he'd much prefer her to be his new mother. In fact, it was just a few weeks ago that he was asking me questions about parents."

"His exact words were… 'Grandma, does everyone have a mother and a father?' I, of course, told him yes. He then said; 'I have two fathers… do you think it is possible that I could have two mothers too?' When I told him it was possible, his entire face lit up; as if I'd just promised him all the taiyaki he could eat. Imagine my shock when he then declared, 'It's Taki-chan isn't it? Taki-chan is my other mother! She even has pretty red hair like my first mother.' He was so excited I didn't have the heart to tell him he was wrong."

Takashi's face fluctuated between bright red and pale white as he studiously avoided looking at Taki, whose face was practically glowing with embarrassment. Neither of them noticed the smug grin on Touko's face as she set about starting supper. If she was aware of the sudden tension that sprung up between the two long-time friends in the wake of her revelation she gave no sign of it as she put the two of them to work helping her prepare supper. As they worked in the small kitchen, Taki and Takashi would occasionally bump into each other which would set the both of them to blushing once again.

The awkwardness continued all through supper as well, with Touko and Shigeru pretending not to notice; the older couple sharing conspiratorial smiles when the younger pair weren't looking. Takashi couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to have a relationship with Taki; he'd always been fond of her and they'd only grown closer to each other since Ryuu had entered their lives but he'd not once allowed himself to think of her that way. Not because he didn't find her attractive, because he did, but because he was certain that she couldn't possibly think of him that way. And it wasn't just her physical appearance that drew him to her; she was one of those rare people whose outer beauty was a direct reflection of her inner beauty and pure soul.

Takashi's attention was forcibly pulled away from his introspection shortly after supper when Nyanko-sensei went mad. There was no other word for it; one minute the disguised youkai was staring moodily out the front window while cursing under his breath and the next the cat was bashing his head against the window while howling up a storm. The fit had caught all four adults completely off guard, and by the time Takashi rose to his feet and rushed to the youkai's side the window had begun cracking beneath the cat's assault. Wrapping his arms around the cat's belly, Takashi pulled him away from the window and couldn't help but blanch as he saw the smears of blood that marred the broken glass; the youkai having cut his face at some point.

The cries Nyanko made as he squirmed and twisted in Takashi's arms were both painful and heartbreaking and nothing Takashi did or said seemed to help. The powerful youkai didn't even seem to remember how to speak as he howled and screeched himself hoarse for nearly twenty minutes straight. The fit ended as suddenly as it started but that didn't ease Takashi's concern as one minute he had his arms full of what seemed like a grief-stricken cat and the next he was holding dead weight as the youkai went limp.

At first he thought his long time friend had merely passed out but soon found that the cat's eyes were still wide open and staring blankly. With Taki's help, Takashi cleaned up and patched the cuts on Nyanko's forehead before taking him upstairs where he made the now catatonic cat a comfortable nest out of his pillows and a couple of blankets. As they worked Takashi kept expecting the taciturn cat to suddenly spring up and call him a baka before demanding a treat.

Unfortunately, the youkai remained completely unresponsive. Takashi could not recall Nyanko ever behaving in such a fashion before; not even the time the youkai had been seriously injured when Matoba Seiji had shot the wolf spirit with an arrow (the youkai had mostly just slept while healing not sat staring blankly at nothing). Taki stayed with him through the night as Takashi kept vigil at Nyanko's side; her presence helping him cope with his growing fear that something was wrong with his first friend. Their earlier tension and embarrassment over Touko's comments and Ryuu's innocent assumptions faded in the face of their mutual concern over the wolf spirit's health and mental wellness.

Around midnight Nyanko-sensei suddenly shook himself out of his stupor and glanced around the room in surprise as if he had expected to be somewhere else. The cat had then imperiously ordered Takashi to fetch him something to eat as he grumbled under his breath about headaches, curses, and impudent children. Unable to get a coherent explanation out of the cat about his earlier behavior and the cat's earlier unresponsiveness, Takashi headed downstairs to fetch the requested food (something he normally wouldn't have done) leaving Taki to watch over the cat to make certain he didn't have another fit.

Takashi offered Taki use of his room when they finally realized how late it was while he grabbed a change of clothes for the morning and opted to spend the night in Ryuu's room.

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><p>In the two days since Nyanko's fit of madness, Takashi had picked up another forty hours a week at the clinic and taken Taki out on a dinner date. The two of them had tentatively talked about the tension they'd felt Monday afternoon and evening prior to the episode with the youkai and Taki's feelings about the revelation that Ryuu saw her as a mother figure. Taki then admitted to having a longstanding crush on Takashi and how much she'd enjoyed spending time with both him and his son these past three years.<p>

He, in turn, confessed that he had always enjoyed her company but had never allowed himself to think of her in that way because he hadn't believed that she could feel the same way about him. He also admitted to worrying about Ryuu's reaction to his dating any woman since he was so hesitant to open up to strangers. It wasn't that he thought he needed his son's approval to date but his desire to maintain the status quo and avoid adding to the stress Ryuu had to deal with adjusting to his new life. They briefly discussed the possibility of going out together again but neither of them was ready to rush into a relationship just yet, though they weren't opposed to eventually entering a relationship either.

Takashi had just returned home from said date when he found a rather stately barn owl perched on his windowsill and Nyanko-sensei having a glaring contest with the bird. And both animals were indeed glaring at each other with mutual animosity though Takashi had no idea why since he'd never seen the barn owl hanging around the house before.

"Knock it off sensei, I doubt the owl has done anything to you," Takashi ordered as he approached the bird curiously, all the while wondering what it was doing here.

His received his answer in the form of a pair of scrolls tied to the owl's left leg. Takashi felt a little foolish for forgetting the fact that wizards used carrier birds to deliver mail as he retrieved the two letters from the owl and thanked the bird for being patient. A quick glance at both letters confirmed that they were both addressed to him; one in a familiar scrawl he recognized as his son's and the other one in an unfamiliar hand stamped with an official looking seal.

Takashi dithered for a few minutes over which letter he should read first, guessing that the official looking one most likely was from one of Ryuu's teachers since he doubted anyone else would be writing to him. In the end, he chose to see how his son was coping with being away at a boarding school surrounded by strangers; taking a seat at his desk before unrolling the smaller scroll.

_Otousan,_

_I want to come home now. I hate it here. I wasn't even here a full day before the  
>instructors began singling me out. And the protective amulet that Natori-san gave to<br>me two years ago doesn't work on the youkai that live in the school. Only Yamamoto-  
>shishou called them shiryou instead, he also said all witches and wizards can see<br>them because they are the ghosts of dead wizards and they still have some magic. I  
>don't care; I don't like them.<em>

_I don't know if the shrine is keeping them away from my dorm room or not but I came  
>face to face with one in the headmaster's office Sunday night and it tried to touch me.<br>I don't know what would have happened if my familiars hadn't protected me from it. _

_Please say I can come home! They won't let me go without your permission even  
>though I don't want to stay. I can't stand all the people staring at me. I don't care if I<br>never learn how to use my magic. I just want to come home._

_Ryuu_

Takashi sighed and ran a hand over his face as he finished reading his son's letter. He'd expected Ryuu to have some trouble adjusting to the school and being away from home four nights a week but he had hoped he wouldn't have too much trouble. He wondered if the incident with the ghost was what prompted Ryuu's demands to be allowed to quit school or if there was something more. Frowning, he set the letter aside and broke the seal on the other letter hoping that it would clear up his lingering confusion and concern.

_Greetings Natsume-san_

_We are contacting you in the hopes that we might arrange a meeting with you in order  
>to discuss a couple of incidents that involved your son, Natsume Ryuu. Please allow me<br>to reassure you that your son was not physically harmed and he is currently in good  
>health aside from the emotional distress he is experiencing at the moment.<em>

_We do have some immediate concerns regarding your son and his behavior and feel it  
>best to address most of those concerns in person rather than putting them down on<br>paper. One of the issues that we need to discuss with you is your son's apparent desire  
>to quit the summer program.<em>

_If it will not be too much of an inconvenience, we would like to meet with you this  
>Thursday, July 05, when your son is scheduled to return home for the weekend. Hatake<br>Kakashi and myself will both be escorting your son through the portal, so there is no  
>need for you to send a reply either way. If you are unable to meet with us at that time,<br>we can reschedule the meeting for a more convenient time while we are there._

_Sincerely,  
>Kimura Fumio<em>

Takashi numbly leaned back in his chair as he tossed the scroll onto his desk beside the letter from Ryuu. He wasn't certain how he felt about the rather ambiguous letter as it had done nothing to ease his growing concern over his son's well being. Ryuu was due home in less than twenty-four hours and while he consciously knew it wouldn't be that long of a wait he couldn't help resent having to wait even that long to find out what was going on. Massaging his temples, for a moment, Takashi tried to ward off the headache he could feel building behind his eyes.

After a few minutes, Takashi made a mental note to warn Touko that they'd have guests tomorrow evening so she wouldn't be caught off guard by the arrival of the two wizards alongside Ryuu. He then made his way to the kitchen for a glass of water and a couple of aspirin before getting ready for bed. His last thought before he slipped off into dreamland was a short prayer that everything would work out in the end and that his son could find the strength to persevere in the face of his fears.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka - idiot  
>Otousantousan – father

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And we have romance! Or at least an allusion to romance. I know there have been a few people wondering about why Takashi was still single considering he is fairly old at the start of the fic but my reasoning was that he was first focused on his education and then as you saw in this chapter, he didn't want to stress Ryuu out and let's face it; introducing a mother figure before he was ready would have made the kid flip out given everything he'd gone through in his short life. Anyway, next chapter has a bit of a time skip._

**09-20-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	15. Reluctant Return of the Disguised Hero

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 14: Reluctant Return of the Disguised Hero<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu  
>Hokkaido Island, Japan<br>02:25 P.M. Thursday August 22, 1991_

"Hey, Ryuu-kun, are you looking forward to coming back here in a couple of weeks now that you'll be starting the regular school session?" Satoshi asked as he packed his suitcase and cleared out his desk.

_I'm not going to be attending the regular session, Satoshi-kun_, Ryuu signed back to his summer roommate of two years. The two boys had become tentative friends towards the end of Ryuu's first summer attending the Japanese school of magic with their bond solidifying over the course of their second term together and the letters they'd exchanged between sessions.

"What? Why ever not?"

_I was signed up to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Scotland years ago._

"You're going to be attending Hogwarts? No way! Hogwarts is supposed to be the number one magical school in all of Europe and Asia though there is some debate that the school system in Americas might be superior. I doubt it though because it's a known fact that Hogwarts has some of the top instructors in their fields; I know for a fact that they've got an old Dueling Champion that teaches the Charms Class and that their Transfiguration instructor was an apprentice of Dumbledore Albus, who is himself a Transfiguration genius as well as the current Supreme Mugwump of the I.C.W. and Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Ryuu blinked at his friend, more than a little shocked to hear the older boy excited by something other than music or his current girlfriend. _I suppose Dumbledore-san is an okay wizard. He seemed a little weird and he dressed kind of funny. He had the longest hair and beard I'd ever seen too. _

"You've actually met Dumbledore Albus? You are so lucky! I know a dozen fourth and fifth years who'd give their wand for a chance to meet Dumbledore-sama."

_It was years ago and he was more interested in talking to my dad then he was in me, I think. I was seven at the time and hadn't really paid that much attention to him at the time._

"Are you going to still attend the summer session next year? Since you'll be leaving the country to attend Hogwarts?" Satoshi suddenly asked.

_Hai, tousan signed me up for five summer sessions. So I have at least three more sessions left. _

"That's good; Advanced Music wouldn't have been the same without you. Chikafuji-sensei isn't going to be happy when she finds out you won't be attending the regular session though; I think she was counting on you to play a flute solo for the winter festival this year."

_She already knows. She sent Yamamoto-shishou a howler when she found out according to the rumors._

Both boys laughed at the thought of their passionate music instructor sending a howler to the headmaster of the school over the matter of Ryuu's attendance. Two minutes later, they finished their packing and headed out to the common room to say goodbye to the rest of their classmates. In sharp contrast to his initial wariness the previous summer, Ryuu walked calmly into the crowded room beside his friend and waved in response to the goodbyes that were sent his way from a few of the students he'd worked with on various class projects.

He still wasn't very comfortable with physical contact and Maruyama Satoshi was the only friend he'd made during the two summers he'd attended the magical school but he'd learned to tolerate the various witches and wizards that attended the summer sessions with him. Gone too was the constant anxiety he'd felt about being separated from his father and Nyanko-sensei.

It had actually taken five weeks worth of daily sessions with a licensed Mind Healer to help Ryuu work through his fears and low self esteem; a direct result of the discussion Hatake-sensei and Kimura-sensei had had with his father after his disastrous first week of attendance that first summer. Those less than pleasant sessions had also had a positive impact on Ryuu's weekly lessons with Kimura-sensei after the Mind Healer had introduced Ryuu to the basic principles of the Mind Arts; specifically the concept of Occlumency which is the ability to organize one's mind while at the same time protecting it against outside intrusion.

Using a combination of Occlumency and meditation, Ryuu was finally able to isolate the feel of his magic and start learning how to control the amount of magic that was drawn from his core when he cast a spell. His control was by no means perfect, however, and he was the only student in his year that had not been given permission to use or carry his wand during classes. On the other hand, a special Training Wand had been special ordered for him towards the end of his first term so he could practice his control during class.

The new Training Wand was made from tempered glass with a duel core of graphite and magnesium and encased in a sheath of fire hardened oak so that only the tip of the glass rod was visible. The handle was made of iron (like the basic Training Wand) and carved with runes that enhanced the performance of the spells that were built into the wand. Like his cherry wood wand, the new Training Wand was fifteen inches long and slightly heavier than his wand which would make it easier for him to transition from the Training Wand to his actual wand once he was given permission.

Any teasing Ryuu might have endured for being denied permission to carry his wand or over the need to use a special Training Wand was nipped in the bud by the teaching staff. The method they used to discourage the borderline bullying, all classes (regardless of year or level) were given an impromptu lesson on the mechanics of silent spell casting. After that lesson, most of the older students immediately understood why Ryuu had been allowed to start school a year early and what a lack of control would mean if the ten year old were to make a mistake when using his wand.

The way this Training Wand worked was both similar and different than the standard Training Wand. One way it was similar was that the handle would change temperature to indicate correct and incorrect hand holds. It differed from the standard wand in that it had the echoes of numerous spells layered into the duel core in addition to the recognition spell designed to evaluate wand movements for accuracy and it actually drew on the user's magic in order to power the spells that made the wand function (unlike the other Training Wands that drew on the ambient magic).

Instead of the iron handle changing temperatures to indicate success or failure of the spells though, the exposed glass tip would light up. The color of the light indicated whether or not the 'spell' was being cast correctly. A red light meant a mistake had been made and a blue light meant the required movements for the 'spell' in question had been done correctly. When the 'spell' was complete the light would change color once again to indicate whether or not the 'spell' was successful with green indicating success and red still representing failure.

Additionally, the shade of the color indicated the amount of power that was being channeled through the wand; with the darker tones indicating too little power was being used and the brighter, paler tones indicating the 'spell' had been overpowered and to what degree. That feature of the Training Wand was designed to help Ryuu learn to regulate the amount of magic he used to power his spells in order to avoid creating a destructive backlash or burning out the core of his real wand. The glass rod of the Training Wand actually neutralized the heat generated from the force of too much magic being pushed through the wand in order to prevent such accidents from happening when using the Training Wand.

Once the original spells could be consistently performed with an appropriate amount of power, the core would be upgraded with an additional fifteen to twenty spells. Each advanced Training Wand had the capacity to hold up to one hundred spell echoes; Ryuu's currently held thirty-one. Once the wand's core held the maximum number of spells, a replacement wand could be purchased (if the student wished to continue practicing the spells on the original wand) or the core could be wiped clean and new spells loaded on.

Aside from his ongoing struggles with spell casting and power control, Ryuu was doing very well in all of his classes. He'd been moved from Introduction Calligraphy to the Beginning Calligraphy class by the third week of the first session since his penmanship had already been fairly advanced for his age. That was strictly due to the amount of effort Ryuu had put into his writing skills over the past three years since the written word was still his main form of communication because there had been so few people at the public school he attended that knew sign language. At the end of first term, he'd tested out of Beginning Calligraphy and started at the intermediate level at the start of the second term.

In Cultural Studies, Ryuu was at the top of his class and had often been asked to tutor those students that were struggling with the material towards the end of his first term. The only reason he hadn't been allowed to skip levels in that subject was because each year studied specific material and skipping the material would leave gaping holes in his education. Students were often held back a term though if they didn't perform well and it was those students in danger of failing the class that Ryuu tutored during the nightly study sessions in the common room. The reasons for assigning Ryuu as a tutor were two-fold; first it helped those students struggling with the class bring up their grades and encouraged (forced) Ryuu to interact with his classmates on a regular basis.

The improvement of Ryuu's social skills due to the time spent with the Mind Healer and his nightly tutoring sessions had also had a positive effect on Ryuu's martial arts skills. Something that all three of his instructors had noticed over the course of the first summer session and that had earned him a level advancement at the end of his first summer in hapkido and ju jitsu. It was at the intermediate level that Ryuu finally began learning how to wield a hanbo during his morning lessons while he'd started learning how to use the bokken at the beginning of the regular school year in his after school aikido classes.

Advanced Music had quickly become one of Ryuu's favorite classes, once he was no longer terrified of being swarmed by his fellow musicians. Part of that was because he was assigned a permanent practice partner (who ended up being his roommate Maruyama Satoshi) and anyone who wanted to practice with him had to make arrangements with Maruyama in order to prevent the other students from overwhelming Ryuu a second time.

He'd slowly grown used to being singled out during that class as the only flute player which had helped him get used to the feeling of being watched by large groups of people. Second term saw some of that attention being diverted to a young third year witch who played both the flute and the viola. The girl in question soon found herself joining Ryuu and Satoshi in their evening practice sessions as Ryuu needed the practice harmonizing with another flute player.

This summer had also seen Ryuu picking up an additional two electives; Introduction to Ancient Runes and Latin. Because he was still attending tutoring sessions with Kimura-sensei the addition of two more classes meant that Ryuu was also introduced to the joys and pains of time travel; he'd been issued a low end time turner. Before he'd actually been handed the magical device, he'd been required to read through an extensive rule book and sign a binding contract (with his father's permission) that bound him to the rules of use to prevent him from abusing or misusing the privilege.

Aside from swearing to never use the device to break the law (or school rules) and to avoid being in the same room as his alternate selves; he was restricted in the number of hours he could add to each day. He was allowed two hours to attend the two extra courses he'd signed up for, two hours for study sessions to give him time to complete his daily assignments, and four hours each night in order to allow his body to rest and recuperate from the stress of reliving four hours of time each day.

He was also required to turn the time turner in to one of his instructors each Thursday before he left for the weekend in order to avoid the temptation of using the device outside of school grounds. He'd then collect the device from his instructor on Sunday nights when he returned to the school. At any given time there were about forty-five students using time turners during the course of the summer sessions and their usage of the devices were closely monitored by the staff. Any student that failed to retain passing grades in all of their classes was required to hand in their time turner and drop one or more of the classes that created the original schedule conflict.

_Hey, Satoshi-kun, this is your last summer session; isn't it? I mean, you were a fifth year this year so you won't be back next summer, will you?_ Ryuu signed as the pair finally made it to the exit.

"Of course I'll be back next summer! You can't get rid of me that easily, Ryuu-kun," Satoshi declared intensely as they headed down to the staff offices so they could turn in their time turners. "Just because I've already completed five sessions doesn't mean I have to stop attending the summer sessions. I don't have to take the core classes such as Spell Casting, Calligraphy, or Cultural Studies but I can and will take a bunch of electives."

"I'll probably take Master level Cultural Studies again next summer so I can do a more in depth study of wizarding politics world wide but for the most part I'm taking Advanced Music, Football, and Advanced Runes again. I also added French, an Introduction to Arithmancy, and will be apprenticing Hatake-sensei now that I've earned my second degree black belt in aikido."

_I'm glad_, Ryuu replied with a relived smile. _I was afraid that I'd be alone next year and be forced to deal with a stranger for a roommate. Plus, I worried that I'd never see you again since I won't be attending the regular sessions at the academy._

"Don't worry, buddy, I'm not going to abandon you," Satoshi assured the younger boy with a fond grin. "Even if I wasn't attending next year's summer session I would have found a way to stay in touch. I don't forget my friends."

_So… which instrument are you going to work on picking up this year?_

"I was thinking going with a string this time, possibly the bass or the cello; since I am doing pretty well with the French horn I started playing last year. That or I was thinking maybe the drums. Strings and percussion are the only two groups I don't currently play. What about you? Are you going to pick up another instrument for your collection?"

_I asked tousan if I could get a pan flute before we leave for England and Hogwarts but he didn't give me an answer yet. _

"Why not pick a different type of instrument? I could help you learn the piano next summer."

_Pianos are a little hard to carry around_, Ryuu dryly signed as he flashed Satoshi a grin; both boys laughing because that was the same line Satoshi had used the first day Ryuu had attended Advanced Music with the older boy. _Besides, in order to be considered for master level Music class you have to either play five different types of instruments or five variations of the same basic type. If I start learning the pan flute then I'll have five different types of flutes; traverse, end blown, the western flute, the ocarina, and then the pan flute. If I branch out to another type of instrument then I'll only have two instruments and need another three in order to advance. _

"You're just in a hurry to learn how to infuse your magic into your music. You can still learn to play other types of instruments, just don't count them towards the five required for advancement. There are plenty of handheld instruments both traditional and modern that you can play for a little variety. Like the trumpet, the harmonica, the viola or violin, the sanshin, a jaw harp, or one of the smaller drums."

Ryuu simply shrugged since he couldn't deny the truth in Satoshi's statement; he did after all have a great interest in learning how to use his music to create illusions, summon wild animals (birds in particular), and put people into trances. He didn't count drawing the songbirds in his backyard as actual magic since he was simply mimicking their songs and tricking them into thinking he was a bird while bribing them with seeds; where a magical summons made through an instrument could call down a single bird of a specific species (or other type of animal) and allow the witch or wizard to give the bird a single order to carry out. Once the order was carried out, the creature (or creatures when more than one was summoned) was freed from the spell and free to return to its home.

Being able to summon birds or other animals that way, would give Ryuu greater control over his familiars since he could imbue the call or song with his command instead of relying on someone else to give the bird verbal orders in his stead. He was currently training his owl, which he'd named Shogun at the end of the previous summer, to respond to specific notes (or similar whistles) but so far the only two he responded to were the ones Ryuu used to the call the bird to him and sent him out of the room. The kneazle (who'd earned the name Tenji) on the other hand, seemed to almost read his mind at times and readily responded to specific whistles or notes played.

After turning in their time turners, Ryuu and Satoshi made their way out of the castle down to the portal; both of them content to take their time since this was the last day they'd be able to spend together for nearly an entire year. As they walked, Ryuu pulled out his ceramic ocarina and began playing a rather simple tune that reflected his current conflicting feelings about returning to England for the first time in four years. After a few minutes, Satoshi began humming along; the two of them comfortable enough with each other that a lack of conversation didn't bother them in the least and their mutual enjoyment of music was obvious in how easily they harmonized with each other.

The pair was waylaid at the gate by Kimura-sensei and Ryuu was asked to return to the castle for a meeting with the Headmaster and the two boys reluctantly parted ways; both of them promising to keep in touch over the coming year. To save time, Kimura side-along apparated Ryuu back up to the main entrance of the castle where they were joined by Hatake-sensei. It only took a few minutes to reach the Headmaster's office where they found Yamamoto-shishou and Healer Inoue waiting for the trio along with an official from the Magical Magistrate's office. Ryuu quickly bowed to both the official and the Headmaster before signing a greeting to the Healer.

"Natsume-kun I called you hear to discuss your upcoming attendance at Hogwarts," Yamamoto began once the formalities had been observed. "We have already spoken to your father about what we will be discussing this afternoon and he gave me permission to approach you on the topic. As you may or may not be aware, I have been closely monitoring your lessons these past two summers and I am pleased with the progress you have made in both your studies and your growth as an individual."

_Arigatou, shishou._

"We still have some concerns about the intermittent control you have developed over your magic and since we know that Hogwarts does not offer any classes that would be equivalent to your tutoring sessions with Kimura-sensei or with your Spell Casting class; we petitioned Dumbledore Albus and the Hogwarts Board of Governors to allow us to continue tutoring you during your free time. There were, as expected, a few conditions and concessions were we required to accept before they would agree to allow us to continue your supplemental education."

_I'm not certain I understand, shishou. Does this mean that I will not be attending Hogwarts?_

"No, you are still expected to attend Hogwarts starting this September," Yamamoto answered as a grin flashed across his face when he noted that Ryuu hadn't actually appeared to be upset over the idea of not attending Hogwarts. "What it means is that you will be continuing your lessons with Kimura during the coming term. I am not certain if you know but Dumbledore-senpai is also one of the few English born wizards that are both aware of your former identity and your disability. He was most willing to work with us because of who you are."

_Does that mean that the Hogwarts' Board of Governors also knows who I was before?_ Ryuu asked with trembling hands as the mere concept of having to become that terrified boy he once was frightened him.

"Relax, child; neither Dumbledore-senpai nor I revealed your birth name to the Board of Governors, the English Ministry of Magic, or anyone else. There are only five wizards within Japan's Magical Magistrate that are aware of who you are and they have all sworn to protect your identity at the behest of your father. Dumbledore-senpai eventually agreed that it was best that you continue to remain hidden in plain sight until you can protect yourself from those that might wish you harm."

"Yamamoto-shishou, are you saying that Natsume-kun isn't actually Natsume Ryuu?" Hatake-sensei inquired as he glanced from where Ryuu was standing with his head bowed to the Headmaster seated behind his desk and back again.

"Iie, that is not what I am saying," Yamamoto countered as he folded his hands and leaned forward over the desk. "He is indeed Natsume Ryuu, adopted son of Natsume Takashi. I was making a reference to who he was prior to his adoption by Natsume-san."

"And that information is important because…?" Kimura-sensei asked as he too studied the now trembling child.

"What do the two of you recall about the Troubles that our English cousins experienced through the sixties and seventies?"

"You are referring to the Pureblood Movement led by the Man-Whose-Name-Is-Not-Spoken, the Dark Lord Voldemort, ne?" Kimura answered.

"Hai."

"What would the Troubles have to do with Natsume-kun?" Hatake questioned instead of trying to answer the Headmaster's earlier question. "They started long before Natsume-kun was born and ended in nineteen-eighty-one when The-Unmentionable-Man was destroyed by…" Hatake trailed off and jumped as he jerked his head around to stare at Ryuu with surprise. "Are you telling me that he is…? That for the past two summers I have been training…?"

Ryuu's tormented green eyes lifted to meet the mismatched eyes of his sensei, his eyes shimmering slightly with unshed tears as he tried to fight his growing distress. He'd never wanted who he had been to interfere who he'd become since his cousin had become his father and saved him from the endless torment he'd been suffering from at the hands of the youkai. As he stared up at his sensei, he silently pleaded with the man to not speak that name. Not here… not now… not when he'd finally managed to break free from most of the chains that had tied him to the past.

"Hai. Natsume Ryuu was born as Potter Hari, England's Boy-Who-Lived and proclaimed Defeater-of-You-Know-Who," Headmaster Yamamoto announced.

Ryuu abruptly jerked his head around to glare at the Headmaster in betrayal and the distress that had been filling him since the conversation turned to his personal history caused him to reflexively begin tapping into his magical core which in turn caused the scar on the side of his face to light up. He took a single, shuddering breath as he brought his hands up and heatedly signed; _I am Natsume Ryuu! Potter Harry died long before otousan saved me from the monsters. Potter Harry was weak and alone. I am not weak anymore and I will never be alone again! I will not allow you or anyone else to take away who I am by binding me to what I was._

"You are the only one who can change who you are, Natsume-kun," Yamamoto calmly stated. "At the same time it is not wise to forget who you were least you forget what makes you who you are now. You are and will always be Potter Hari; the child hero of England's magical community. You are also Natsume Ryuu; adopted son of Natsume Takashi. Acknowledging your birth name and your birth parents will not change the person you have become unless you allow it to."

Ryuu looked away and didn't even make an attempt to refute or accept the headmaster's statement. His heart hurting too much with the knowledge that four more people now knew who he had been; three of them staff at the school that he'd have to interact with in the future. Two of them were teachers that he spent a considerable amount of time with on a daily basis during the summer sessions. He shivered a bit as the magic inside of him continued building up in pressure as he unconsciously tried to contain the magic while his emotions continued to draw more magic out.

_May I leave now, shishou?_ Ryuu practically demanded, wanting nothing more than to go home where he could once more forget about a past he had no wish to remember.

"Not just yet, Natsume-kun; there is much left for us to discuss." Ryuu sent a mutinous glare at the Headmaster but stiffly nodded his head to indicate that he understood. "The first thing I'd like for you to do is bring your magic back under control before you overload your core." Ryuu started at that revelation even as he immediately turned his attention inwards to find his entire body literally overflowing with magic. It took him a few minutes to calm his emotions enough to bring the magic back under control and as the majority of the free magic returned to his core the scar on his temple slowly faded out of sight once more.

"Good. You need to work on maintaining control at all times; Natsume-kun. You are far too powerful of a wizard to allow your emotions to control you to the point where you lose control. If you do not, then one day you will release an explosive backlash of uncontrolled magic that could level an entire city. That said; we've other things to discuss. First, your wand… Part of the agreement that was made with Dumbledore-senpai was that you would purchase a second wand through their local Wandmaker to use while attending Hogwarts. His reasoning was that a wand that is slightly less attuned to you might help you increase the control you have over your magic."

"As such, you will not be allowed to use your cherry wood wand while attending classes at Hogwarts. You may still carry it in your bag but you may only use it under the supervision of Kimura-sensei until he deems you have sufficient control. Second, have you already turned in your time turner? I'd hoped to catch you before you'd turned it in. No big deal, we'll have to have another reissued to you once we are finished here. Actually it is probably best that you did already turn in your old turner; that way we can have you sign an alternate contract for using the device while you are attending Hogwarts as the rules are going to be slightly different. I trust I don't have to remind you not to abuse the privilege of using the time turner? Good."

"Much like your use of the device during this past summer, you will be using the time turner to add between six and eight hours to your days in order to allow you time for your tutoring, your morning training, keeping up with your non-magical studies as per your father's request, and allowing your body extra rest so you don't burn yourself out. Dumbledore-senpai's only request is that you do not tell anyone within the school that you are using the device and that you under no circumstances allow any fellow students to use the device. Do you believe that is a responsibility you can handle?"

Ryuu considered it for a moment and then nodded. He already knew how to keep secrets so adding one more wouldn't hurt and the only ones he'd feel guilty for keeping secrets from would be his family or Satoshi and they already knew about his adding hours to his days.

"Excellent. Our next order of business will be to address one of the concessions that we were asked to give in exchange for allowing you to continue having private lessons. In order for you to understand what I will be asking of you, you first need to know a little history about magical schools worldwide; something you will no doubt be covering during your fourth or fifth summer term in Cultural Studies. The first thing you must understand is that each magical school is independent of any government and that they are each an entity unto themselves."

"This means that each school's head and their associated council or board of governors retain the right to impose its own rules, regulations, curriculum, and uniforms; though some willingly cooperate with their governments. A set of international standards was created two hundred years ago when magical travel became more reliable for the sole purpose of insuring that the basic knowledge one school offers is at least similar of not identical to what every other school offers."

"What a school offers above and beyond those standards depend upon the current heads of said schools. To that end, each school jealously guards the knowledge and skills that have been gathered since the school was founded. Magical and educational traditions based upon the country of origin play a large part in what each school considers secret. Under normal circumstances, you would never have been allowed to attend both Hogwarts and this academy because of the unwritten rules and traditions that prevent schools from sharing knowledge."

"Of all the schools worldwide; only Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang have ever formed a conclave of institutions and are therefore the only three schools (until now) to even allow students from another school to enter the school grounds. And the last time one of the schools was visited by their sister school was over one hundred years ago during the final Tri-Wizard Tournament before the contest was discontinued due to the soaring death tolls."

"In allowing you to not only attend Hogwarts but to continue attending this school during the summer we have formally entered into a sister-school contract with Hogwarts. That means not only will we be required to send additional students to Hogwarts but we will be required to allow some of their students to attend the Academy here. You will be the first student, obviously, as you are already enrolled at Hogwarts and have attended classes here at the academy for two summers."

"We will also be participating in an instructor exchange program that has never before occurred between two schools but you will not have to worry about that; I only chose to inform you so you knew to expect a few familiar faces during your years at Hogwarts. Now the reason I brought up the student exchange portion of the contract is because the Council of Elders that oversee this school has decided that because we entered into this agreement purely for your benefit that you will be required to sponsor the first exchange student that will be attending the Academy next summer."

_What exactly does that mean?_

"It means that you will need to invite one of your fellow students from Hogwarts to attend next year's summer session. The student will be granted an educational visa, their tuition and supplies will be paid for by the school, and you will be their guide here while they are attending classes. They will also be guests of your family for the duration of the summer; to which your parents have already agreed."

"If the student wishes, they can return the following summer; whether they do or not you will be required to sponsor another student during the next summer session. Those students that accept a sponsorship will in turn be asked to sponsor one of our students to attend Hogwarts for one year. Though instead of living with their sponsor they will join their sponsor's school house and be required to guide them during the year they are there."

_How will that work if I am taking the more advanced courses? And what if they don't speak Japanese?_

"There are translation spells that can be used for the time they are in the country; they will not work consistently over the course of a full year but for eight weeks it shouldn't be an issue," Kimura-sensei replied. "Eventually, they will pick up enough to get by on their own after the first two summer sessions if they choose to continue. As their guide, it will fall to you to make certain they know their way around the castle and are keeping up in their studies; much as Maruyama-kun was your guide for the first couple of weeks last summer."

"Eventually, we hope to have sponsors amongst our regular session students so that we can sponsor students during the regular school year in addition to those that attend the summer sessions," Headmaster Yamamoto continued when Ryuu didn't seem to have any other questions. "Hogwarts does not currently offer a summer program but they will consider initiating one after some of their instructors have had a chance to audit our summer program to get an idea of what we are teaching. Do you have any other questions?"

Ryuu shook his head no; still trying to wrap his mind around the idea that he was going to have to seek out a complete stranger and invite them into is home. He was dismissed shortly after that and escorted back to the equipment room where he was reissued a new time turner after signing a new contract. The time turner was then turned over to Kimura-sensei who would be holding onto the device until they both arrived at Hogwarts on September first. Forty-five minutes later, he was walking through the portal for the last time that summer.

The first person Ryuu saw when he entered the kitchen after putting his things up in his room was Taki. He walked up to her and offered her a smile and a hug as he greeted her, _Tadaima, kaasan! Is tousan home? I wanted to talk to him about the sponsorship program that I'm required to participate in as part of the newly formed partnership between Hogwarts and the academy._

"Oh? Headmaster Yamamoto spoke with you before you left?" Taki asked as she passed Ryuu one of the chicken and vegetable dumplings she was cooking for supper. "Your father is going to be late tonight, he has to clean out his office and turn over all of his notes on the various patients he's been working with at the clinic since today was his last day. Why don't you head upstairs and start packing everything that you're going to be taking with you for the school year? You won't have much time after supper and we have to be up early tomorrow morning in order to get to the airport in time to catch our flight to England."

_Hai, kaasan_, Ryuu replied as he snuck another dumpling before darting back upstairs.

The first thing he did was empty out everything he'd taken with him to school that past summer and clean out the inside of the suit case. He then began packing the clothes he would need, including a couple of his spare school uniforms, several of his martial arts gi, and the heavy winter clothes Taki had taken him to buy the weekend before knowing that the winter would be considerably colder in Scotland since it was further north of the equator. The next item to join his clothes was his case of flutes since he had no intention of going a full school year without practicing every chance he could get.

Following the case were all of the various magical texts Ryuu had picked up during the past couple of years, including copies of his text books from the previous two summer sessions. Along with those were the non-magical textbooks and workbooks that Taki had purchased so he could continue his non-magical education while he was at Hogwarts. Flipping through the various books, Ryuu couldn't help but think back to the day Taki officially become his adopted mother this past spring.

It had been the first time he'd ever attending a wedding and what made it even more special in Ryuu's mind, aside from the fact that Taki was marrying Takashi, was that he'd been asked to perform some of the traditional musical pieces for the ceremony and several festive ones during the reception afterwards. Ryuu had secretly wondered if Taki had been his second mother for nearly three years now, though he'd never had the courage to ask anyone if that was true until he had a conversation with his grandmother just before he graduated from elementary school.

He always imagined his birth mother would have been much like Taki; kind hearted, always smiling, intelligent, and always ready to offer a hug no matter what the occasion. It helped that she also had red hair like his mother, even if Taki's was more of a strawberry blonde than a true red like his mother's had been. When his father had approached him last winter about how he felt about Taki, Ryuu had admitted that he liked her very much and thought of her as his second mother.

Takashi had then asked Ryuu if he would be upset if she became his mother for real which confused Ryuu until Takashi explained that he was considering asking her to marry him. His father had also explained that the two of them had been seeing each other since Ryuu started attending the summer sessions; telling him how they'd grown closer over that time. Ryuu of course had no problem telling his father that he would be happy to officially have Taki as his mother.

The first time he'd called her kaasan, Taki had cried and Ryuu feared he'd hurt her feelings until she explained that they were happy tears. Ever since then she always gave him this extra special smile whenever he called her mother; one of those smiles that say you've made someone's day and brought them true joy. It was a smile Ryuu loved to see on his mother's face because it conveyed the love she felt for him and made him love her all the more.

The only real change Takashi's and Taki's marriage had on their small family was that Takashi, Ryuu, and the Fujiwaras had moved into Taki's home since the Fujiwara's house was just too small for the growing family. And while the Fujiwaras could have stayed in their home; the elderly couple had grown used to having a full house and the silence after Takashi and Ryuu first moved out had been too much. To everyone's surprise, the Fujiwaras had then turned around and rented their house to Natori Shuichi who had semi-retired from the acting business and was looking for a place to retreat every now and then.

After the session Ryuu had spent with the Mind Healer, he felt far more comfortable around Natori and even tolerated Hiiragi's presence once she stopped losing control around the eleven year old. The only thing he didn't do was get close enough to Natori for the man to touch him since the youkai that formed the man's living tattoo still freaked him out a bit (he still occasionally had nightmares about the ten minutes that particular youkai had possessed him and crawled all over his head and face).

Just that past year, the exorcist had taught Ryuu how to draw protective circles, set up a protective ward, and seal a demon so that the eleven year old could protect himself from the demonic youkai that inhabited much of the British Isles. Taki had shown Ryuu how to create the viewing circles that would allow the youkai to be seen by those who normally could not see the spirits and demons while Takashi had taught Ryuu everything he knew about the Yujincho. Takashi had also shown Ryuu how to make and use the special paper that was used to bind, summon, and destroy the youkai.

The Yujincho had been a complete shock to Ryuu, since he hadn't known the book of contracts had been amongst the things his grandmother had left him (one of the many items that had been taken from the mokeskin pouch Takashi had retrieved from Gringotts). He'd tried to give the book to his father but Takashi told him that he had his own Book of Friends and showed it to the boy the same day he'd given Ryuu his Yujincho just a few weeks earlier on his eleventh birthday. Ryuu had only looked through the book once before he'd stashed it out of sight in a safe place so he wouldn't have to deal with the youkai whose contracts he now owned.

Ryuu was drawn out of his memories as a knock sounded on his door before it was opened to reveal his father. Jumping up to his feet, Ryuu rushed forward to give Takashi a hug before he leaned back enough to ask him if he had a few minutes.

"That's why I'm here, son. Your mother said you'd wanted to talk to me about the sponsorship deal and I figured we could do that while I helped you pack up the rest of your things."

_The headmaster said he'd spoken to you about the whole thing_, Ryuu signed before he began passing his father the supplies he'd need to take care of his two familiars and several other things he didn't want to do without during the school year such as the protective shrine his father had given him and his calligraphy kit. _Why did the school go through such lengths just so I will be allowed to attend Hogwarts? Wasn't there any other way for me to attend without drawing all that attention? If the rules are as strict as they say they are regarding exchange programs between various schools; why couldn't I have just attended Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu?_

"There are several reasons why both sides went to such lengths to both accommodate you and make it so you could attend their respective schools," Takashi began as he lifted a curious Tenji out of the suit case before adding in the binders of sheet music that Ryuu passed him. "I know it bothers you; but the biggest reason why they were so willing to compromise was because of who you are. I suspect that Headmaster Yamamoto had hoped that this is the way things would turn out back when he first presented me with the idea of you attending the summer sessions."

Takashi paused in the packing as he glanced over to find Ryuu mangling a thick sheaf of parchment that held his notes from his tutoring sessions with Kimura-sensei. Sighing, Takashi pulled the stack of papers out of his son's hands and tossed it into the suitcase before pulling Ryuu down onto the bed beside him.

"As much as you dislike the idea, there will always be those out there who are going to use you or try to use you for their political maneuvering. As you grow older, you will learn to recognize those individuals who are trying to use for their own ends from those who are trying to use you in order to make the world a better place for everyone. Like it or not, you are an important person in the wizarding world."

"The best way to avoid being manipulated is to learn how to stand up for yourself, forge alliances with like minded people, and learn how to play politics. Using your fame won't make you a bad person; so long as you are using it for the right reasons and not using it to take advantage of those less fortunate than yourself. You asked if there was any other way to have been allowed to attend Hogwarts without all being placed on the spot over the sponsorship, ne?"

"If you had been willing, you could have attended Hogwarts as Hari Potter and you never would have had to worry about sponsoring another student because the magical community would have bent over backwards to accommodate you. Even if you are put on the spot because you are the first exchange student in the history of both schools, eventually that attention will fade away and people will forget about the part you played because other students will follow in your footsteps.

"And no, you couldn't just back out of accepting your enrollment at Hogwarts because I'd made an agreement with Dumbledore-sama back before I brought you home. He, in turn, swore oaths to keep your birth name off your official records in order to allow you anonymity unless you choose to reveal who you are to your friends. He was correct, in that it would not be fair to deny you the opportunity to learn about your English heritage much as you spent these past four years learning about your Japanese heritage. Much as I've made it a point that you learned about the magical world at the same time as you learned about the spirit and non-magical worlds."

_I don't want to lose who I am now. I'm afraid that I'll find myself weak and alone again. I don't want to lose you, kaasan, baasan, or jiisan… I…_

"You are not weak, you were never weak; you were just untrained," Takashi whispered as he pulled Ryuu into his arms. "And you will never be alone again because your mother and I are not going to abandon you. Even if we did not give birth to you; you are our son and you always will be. Nothing will ever change that; regardless of what name you are known by. Now, let's finish getting your things packed because everyone will be here soon. And if we don't hurry Kaname will finish off the taiyaki your grandmother made."

It didn't take them much longer to finish packing, the only things left being Shogun's perch and Tenji's cat bed; which would both be placed into the suitcase first thing in the morning. Ryuu then scampered down stairs to find the house filled with far more guests than he would have ever expected. To his surprise several classmates from his junior high, the dojo, and the magical academy were there as were several of Takashi and Taki's friends and a few of Ryuu's instructors.

As far as parties went, it wasn't quite as large as Takashi and Taki's wedding reception but it was far bigger than any of the parties that Ryuu had been to before his parents' wedding. The eleven year old wizard really enjoyed the party though as he knew it was the last time he'd be able to see his classmates and his friend for the next ten months. Those classmates of his that were in Advanced Music with him had brought their instruments and together the entire group played several lively tunes while the other guests danced. Many solos and duets were performed that night as well as each of the music students wanted to show off their best pieces.

A few farewell gifts were passed around and Ryuu ended up receiving the pan flute he'd asked for in addition to the latest issue of the Naruto Manga (this last one from Hatake-sensei who'd gotten a kick out of the fact that there was a character in the series with his name that resembled him). He was also given an old fashioned camera and lots of film, the camera old enough that magic would not interfere with its performance. From Natori and Kaname he was given a stock of pre-prepared holy paper that could be used to ward against or seal the youkai and a new protective amulet that had extra protections placed on it in addition to the standard ones that were on the old amulet which would hopefully ward off magical ghosts as well as the normal youkai.

Ryuu was actually sad to say goodbye when the time came for everyone to leave. Fifteen hours later, after a fitful night's sleep, Ryuu and his parents were buckling their seat belts as the plane that was taking Ryuu away from his home taxied its way out to the runway. As much as he might have wished otherwise; Harry Potter was returning to England for the first time in four years. The only thing he carried with him to remind himself that he was no longer the frightened little boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs was his name; Natsume Ryuu.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Iie – no  
>Gi – uniform typically worn by students learning the various branches of martial arts<br>Hai –yes  
>Ne – used at the end of a sentence for emphasis; the equivalent of saying 'right' at the end of a sentence for clarification or declaration<br>Obaasan/baasan – grandmother (or grandma)  
>Ojiisanjiisan – grandfather (or grandpa)  
>Okaasankaasan – mother  
>Sanshin – a three-string Japanese instrument that is similar to the banjo<br>Shogun – means (military) general. Also once used to describe various leaders in Japanese history. In the case of the owl's name I intended for the translation to be general.  
>Tadaima – I'm home<br>Tenji – Ryuu's kneazle is named after the 38th emperor of Japan and was also known as Emperor Tenchi. He ruled from 661 to 672. The name was meant to be a reference to a cat's natural ability to present itself as royalty and I liked the name Tenji out of all the ones I researched. Tenji has multiple definitions depending on the kanji/kana character used; I'm going to say in this instance that it does **NOT** mean maid of honor or lady in waiting. I think the closest meaning that matches the personality of the kneazle would be; exhibition or display.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _To those who are sad that I didn't write the conversation between Takashi and Ryuu's instructors after that first week of school, the dating and later wedding of Takashi and Taki, or much of what happened during Ryuu's first two summer sessions; I apologize. I was trying to avoid getting too wordy as often happens when I start writing and while a few of those events are important to the story the details aren't exactly necessary to move the plot forward. It leaves me a lot of material to contemplate for later omakes though… _

_From this point forward there won't be any more large time skips (though there are a couple of small ones) though the story will still move along fairly quickly. There's also going to be a lot of unexplained things happening that may drive you crazy (Ryuu's glowing scar anyone?) that won't be explained until later in the story so please be patient as everything will be fully explained over the course of the story (I think – I might have missed a point or two but will deal with them as they crop up) before the epilogue. ~ Jenn_

**09-20-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	16. History Gave Rise to Castles

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 15: History Gave Rise to Castles and Legend Gave Them Names<span>

_London, England  
>03:25 P.M. Saturday August 24, 1991<em>

The Natsume family checked into their room at the Leaky Caldron five hours after they landed and deposited their luggage in their room before they headed to the bank to meet with the goblins. Sander Bongledash, the lawyer that had handled the Potter Wills and helped Takashi file the adoption paperwork for Ryuu, was meeting them inside. They would be going over the state of Ryuu's inheritance, finalizing the paperwork to open up one of the Potter properties for the family to live in, and securing the funds they'd need to purchase Ryuu's school supplies.

The goblins stared a bit when Ryuu walked in carrying a kneazle on one shoulder, an owl on the other, and a large cat cradled in both arms but the stoic and somewhat anti-social beings said nothing since witches and wizards often brought their pets and familiars into the bank. Once they were finished with their business an hour later, they were met just on the steps outside of the bank by Albus Dumbledore; whose eyes twinkled like mad as he gazed down at the much changed Harry Potter.

"It is good to see you both in such good health after all this time," Dumbledore warmly stated as he bowed to the family of three. "And who, might I ask, is the lovely young vision of beauty accompanying you, my friends?"

"Dumbledore-sama, it is a pleasure to see you again as well," Takashi replied as he reflexively returned Dumbledore's bow. "Please allow me to introduce my wife, Natsume Taki. Taki, this is Albus Dumbledore; the Headmaster of Hogwarts."

"It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Dumbledore-sama," Taki stated with a warm smile as she briefly bowed to the wizard. "Takashi has mentioned you in passing more than a few times over the past few years."

"The pleasure is all mine," Dumbledore countered with an extra twinkle in his eyes. "I know the three of you must be feeling exhausted from your travels; would you care to sit down and catch up over a cup of tea before we purchase young Mr. Natsume's supplies?"

"Thank you for the consideration, Dumbledore-sama, but we will be fine," Takashi assured the wizard. "We've spent most of the past seventeen hours sitting down; it will be a relief to have a chance to stretch our legs for a while."

"Where do you wish to start? Wand? Uniform? Bookstore?"

_May we go to the stationary store first, tousan?_ Ryuu signed after he set Nyanko-sensei down on the ground at his feet. _I want to see if they have any of the magic neutralizing parchment as I'm getting a little low and we didn't visit District Seven before we left. Hasegawa-sensei will flay me alive if I even think of practicing my runes on the regular parchment._

"Ryuu-kun has requested to visit the stationary store first; he's looking to stock up on the magic neutralizing parchment for his rune practice," Takashi translated when it became apparent that Dumbledore hadn't recognized Ryuu's gestures as a form of communication. "Just out of curiosity, are any of the instructors at Hogwarts familiar with sign language?"

"Sign language? It is possible but I couldn't say for certain off the top of my head as it is not a skill that is in great demand within Hogwarts since we do not often find magicals without the ability to hear and speak. Those we do encounter are usually suffering from spell damage (like our young friend here) that is usually corrected within twenty-four hours. Those born with speech or hearing problems can usually be cured with a few spells and a potions regime. If we'd been notified within days of young Mr. Natsume's rather abrupt silence we might have been able to reverse the accidental magic."

"It is not often I stumble across a language I have not yet learned; I think I will look forward to the challenge of learning language number one-hundred-fifty-three," Dumbledore added as he smiled down at Ryuu. "Upon further reflection, it occurs to me that if any of the professors are likely to have knowledge of sign language it would be Filius Flitwick; he's the Charms Instructor and the Head of Ravenclaw."

_Charms? Satoshi-kun mentioned him yesterday. Wasn't he an International Dueling Champion?_ Ryuu asked, directing his question more towards his father since he was now aware that Dumbledore didn't read hand signs.

"Ah, my son is wondering if the instructor you spoke of was an International Dueling Champion."

"My word, Filius will be tickled pink to know that he is still remembered for winning multiple championships before he retired from the dueling circuit; so few of the younger generations see him as anything other than their slightly excitable charms professor and the head of one of the school's four houses," Dumbledore stated as he led them towards the stationary store that was tucked beside the ice cream parlor.

Takashi ended up having to place a special order for the special parchment Ryuu needed, the store not carrying any in stock since so few British wizards and witches bothered to use the magic neutralizing parchment. He also purchased a large box of finely ground drying sand which was used to soak up the extra ink from freshly written documents to prevent smearing. Dumbledore had tried to interest Ryuu in a pack of standard quills only for Taki to explain that Ryuu had a professional grade calligraphy set.

Their next stop was the book store where they picked up the required texts from the booklist and a couple of extra books Ryuu had thought might be interesting. From there they picked up a pewter cauldron, an old fashioned scale complete with a set of brass weights, a box of crystal vials, the standard first year potion's kit, and a telescope. Getting fitted for robes, as opposed to the rather form fitting school uniforms he was used to, was a bit strange but not wholly unfamiliar due to Ryuu's experience of wearing a kimono and hakama for his parents' wedding. The design of the robe thankfully allowed for freedom of movement and enough room for additional layers to be piled on underneath during the colder months.

Finally, after nearly two and a half hours of wandering up and down the crowded alley, the group made their way to the wand shop that was close to the main entrance of the alley. Ryuu's shoulders tensed as he felt the wave of magic wash over him the moment he stepped through the door and the creepy interior of the wand shop wasn't helping matters.

In direct contrast to the shop where he'd purchased his wand in District Seven, Ollivander's was dark, cramped, and dusty. Wand boxes were crammed into every available crevice and piled upon every flat surface minus the rickety looking counter where an antique cash register sat. Next to the register, covered in dust and cobwebs, sat an old fashioned bell; the kind you rang by pushing the little button on the top.

He turned to ask his father a question when he suddenly felt a presence spring up beside him. Startled, Ryuu reacted instinctively as he dropped into a crouch and spun around quickly, his left leg out straight as he aimed a sweeping kick at the man. Even as he was moving, Shogun had launched himself off his shoulder and began circling overhead while Tenji aimed sharp claws at the face of the man. Surprisingly, neither Ryuu's leg sweep nor Tenji's full frontal assault managed to hit their mark as the wizard that appeared suddenly vanished and reappeared several feet away.

"I must say that is one reaction I never expected from one of my young customers," the man announced in a creepy voice as he studied Ryuu with silver eyes.

Ryuu slowly and gracefully rose to his feet, automatically falling into a defensive stand as Shogun returned to his shoulder while Tenji slid down the side of the bookshelf he'd landed on; the kneazle's sharp claws pulling up curls of wood and leaving behind deep gouges. Dumbledore was watching Ryuu with a look of mild shock on his face while Taki and Takashi were both warily watching the strange wizard with distrust. Nyanko-sensei actually waddled up and sat beside Ryuu, his dark cat eyes staring up at the wandmaker with an unreadable expression on his face.

"How could you not expect one to react violently when you sneak up on them unawares?" Takashi asked blandly as he stepped up beside Ryuu, who had still not relaxed his stance.

"Normally, I expect them to jump and squeal in fright, freeze and stare in shock, or clap and stare in awe. I have on more than one occasion been attacked with a spell or two by an adult but never before has anyone physically tried to attack me nor have I ever been attacked by a person's pet before. Most intriguing. Albus Dumbledore, it is a pleasure to see you again; mahogany, sixteen inches, pliable with a phoenix feather core – excellent for Transfiguration and Defense. Shame you never use it anymore. What, may I ask, brings you to my humble shop?"

"I'm just escorting an old friend and his wife around the Alley while they purchase their son's school supplies," Dumbledore replied with a benign smile as he ignored the spiel about his wand. "Please allow me to introduce you to the Natsume family; Takashi, Taki, and young Ryuu. Mr. and Mrs. Natsume, this gentleman is Ordric Ollivander, finest Wandmaker in the British Isles."

"Ryuu Natsume?" Ollivander asked in a knowing voice as his eyes cut from Dumbledore over to the still defensive eleven year old. "Play whatever games you wish, Albus, but I know that you know that I know exactly who he is. I remember the wands I sold his parents… his father's was an eleven inch mahogany and unicorn hair, pliable; a most excellent wand for transfiguration and his mother's was a swishy ten and one-quarter willow and unicorn hair that was a nice wand for charm work. I thought it was a terrible waste of two good wands when I heard both of them perished in the fire."

"Ollivander-san, I would much appreciate it if you would cease the theatrics and have some consideration for my son's feelings," Takashi politely requested, though the look on his face and the tone of his voice more than hinted at the anger he held in check. "We are here to purchase a wand for my son; not dredge up history that is better off left in the past where it belongs. If you do not think you can maintain your professionalism, I will happily take my son to another wandmaker to get him his wand."

"My apologies, sir, it was not my intent to offend you or your son," Ollivander hastily apologized as he pulled out a measuring tape from his coat pocket. "If the young gentleman in question would relax and tell me which arm is his wand arm?"

Ryuu reluctantly lowered his hands and brought his feet closer together as he warily eyed the odd wizard as he approached him. When the man was about two feet away, Ryuu instinctively backed up to prevent the man from getting any closer since he really didn't trust the man. It only took a few steps for the older wizard to realize that Ryuu wasn't going to let him get any closer and he sighed but stopped trying to close the distance between them.

"Your wand arm, Mr. Po…"

"Natsume," Takashi interjected firmly before the man could finish.

"My apologies… your wand arm, Mr. Natsume?"

Ryuu frowned at the man even as he lifted both arms and turned his hands so that his palms were facing up. Ollivander frowned as he glanced down at both hands before looking Ryuu in the eye as he opened his mouth; whatever he was about to say was cut off by Taki though, as she stepped beside her husband.

"Our son is ambidextrous, Ollivander-san."

The Wandmaker's eyebrows rose in either surprise or disbelief before he unwound the measuring tape and sent it flying with a flick of his wrist. Ryuu flinched as the tape flew to his right arm and began measuring the length of his arm from fingertip to elbow, from fingertip to armpit, the width of his wrist, the distance between the tip of his thumb and the tip of his pinky finger. The tape then abandoned his right arm and repeated the process with his left arm before it started measuring the distance between his two hands. Next it moved around his back to measure the distance between his two shoulders, the width of his chest, and the circumference of his head. By that time Ryuu realized he'd allowed the tape to distract his attention away from the creepy Wandmaker.

Snapping his right hand out he trapped the tape in his fist as it tried to measure the distance between his eyes as he searched the shop for the Wandmaker. The wizard in question was just returning from amidst the maze of shelves that filled the small shop and dumped an armful of wand boxes down on the counter. When Ollivander glanced up to find Ryuu holding the tape measure in his hand, he jumped a bit and apologized for allowing it to get carried away before snapping his fingers; making the tape disappear from sight.

"Let's start with twelve inch ebony and dragon heartstring," Ollivander announced as he unboxed said wand and held it out to the boy, handle first.

Ryuu hesitantly reached out to take the wand only for Shogun to nip his ear in protest. Long used to taking advice from his familiars, Ryuu dropped his hand and shook his head no. What followed after that was an hour of pure torture… for Ollivander. Out of the two hundred wands that Ollivander pulled for Ryuu to try, the three animals only let him actually touch five of them and none of those ended up being even a partial match. Now, normally Ollivander quite enjoyed drawing out a wand sell and the challenge a difficult customer presented; however, because the boy wasn't touching the different wand combinations he was unable to determine how the boy's magic interacted with the magic of the wands.

Ryuu scratched Tenji under the chin as he watched as the wizard disappeared into the stacks after the man had glared at the huge pile of wands that surrounded the counter. Sitting on the counter were the five wands that Ryuu had tried; each one of them made from holly wood though they each contained a different core. That didn't mean he tried every holly wand that Ollivander presented to him because there were many other holly wands that he never touched. Ryuu practically jumped out of his skin when the Wandmaker suddenly appeared in front of him once more, holding out yet another wand.

"Holly, eleven inches; supple yet resilient like the other five holly wands you actually tried," Ollivander stated as he flicked his eyes to the two animals perched on Ryuu's shoulders. "And like those five wands it has a fire based core; this one a tale feather from a fire phoenix."

Ryuu accepted the wand skeptically once it became clear that neither of his familiars were going to protest. He felt a slight tug on his magic as he firmly gripped the wand with his right hand before shifting it into his left. The tug increased and Ryuu swept the wand in a wide arch from right to left in a wide slash that poured forth a shower of red and gold sparks. Switching hands once more, Ryuu sliced the wand upwards so that the second shower of sparks began dancing around him as they drifted towards the floor.

The last thing Ryuu did was bring the wand down to chest height and flick his wrist as he pictured the tip of the wand lighting as he cut the flow of magic traveling through the wand in half. He was rewarded with a soft globe of pale yellow light that cut through the gloom of the store without blinding everyone inside. It was not the dramatic and eye-catching display his first wand had given off when he'd first found it over a year earlier but it was a pretty display none-the-less. He also didn't feel the same connection with this wand he'd felt with his cherry wood wand.

Releasing the magic that was lighting the wand, Ryuu brought the wand closer as he spun it between his hands by the handle and the tip; weighing it in his hand while at the same time inspecting the shaft of the wand for flaws or brittleness. He then grasped it firmly by the tip and held it out to Ollivander who took it with a look of confusion on his face.

Turning to his father, Ryuu signed, _It isn't that good of a match but Yamamoto-shishou said that it was best if I find one that wasn't a perfect fit because it would reduce the effectiveness of the spells and help me gain better control. It was the only one that I felt even the smallest connection with out of the six wands I tried. _

"You're certain?" Takashi asked when Ryuu had finished; at Ryuu's nod he turned his attention to Ollivander and addressed the Wandmaker. "My son seems to think that wand he just tried is the closest match out of the half dozen wands he tried."

"Closest match?" Ollivander repeated slowly as he furrowed his brow; all thoughts of giving a mystical speech about the wand being a brother wand to Voldemort's fleeing in his confusion. "Not a perfect match…? Surely he'd be more interested in finding a wand that is more than just a close match; a poorly matched wand will never work as well as a perfect match."

_You would think he'd be happy to get rid of me_, Ryuu commented blithely as Nyanko snickered from beside his feet. _Tousan, can you please ask him if he carries the detachable sleeve and pocket holsters? I should probably get another jar of wand polish too; I'm almost out. _

Ollivander tried to talk them out of buying the wand a couple of times before he threw up his hands and sold them the wand, a holster, a small jar of cleaning solution, and a slightly bigger jar of polishing wax. The moment the wand had been paid for, Ryuu darted out of the door; eager to escape the creepy wizard while Dumbledore stayed behind a few minutes to speak with the Wandmaker privately. When the long bearded wizard joined the family outside, he gave Ryuu a speculative glance before escorting the family back inside the Leaky Caldron where he took his leave after passing Ryuu a ticket for the Hogwarts Express.

After dropping Ryuu's school things off in their room, the three of them ate a late supper, took a second trip into Diagon Alley for ice cream, and then retired for the night. Taki and Takashi slept on the only bed in the room while Ryuu willingly bedded down on the floor with a couple of pillows and the extra blankets that they'd requested from the innkeeper. Both Nyanko and Tenji curled up with Ryuu on the floor while Shogun opted to use the wardrobe in the room as a perch.

Ryuu's sleep that night was anything but restful as old nightmares resurfaced for the first time in two years. Visions of poisonous green lights, demonic red eyes, insane laughter, and the lifeless body of a woman with long, red hair were followed by thousands of hands pinching, grabbing, pulling, and scratching at his arms, his hair, and his face. Hands that tried to strangle him were replaced with teeth that tore at his neck and glowing yellow eyes morphed into mouths filled with razor sharp teeth. And throughout it all, a madman laughed and laughed while the demons called out threats, demands, and terrible promises.

The nightmares would revisit Ryuu every night for the rest of the week they spent in the magical inn. His mother and father offered him comfort but there wasn't really much they could do besides coax him into talking about the dreams and reassure him that they were just that, dreams. During the day, Takashi and Taki took the eleven year old out sight-seeing in order to help take his mind off the unpleasant dreams. Takashi was more than a little sad to see his son sinking back into his shell as the nightmares continued night after night. It wasn't exactly unexpected, since he knew coming back to England would be traumatic for the eleven year old but that didn't make it any easier to watch.

It probably wouldn't have been as bad if not for the youkai that started turning up on their third day in London, the demonic spirits having been drawn by the spiritual energy that Takashi, Ryuu, and the disguised Madara radiated. Thankfully, the new protective amulet that Natori-san had given to Ryuu prevented the twisted spirits from getting within a hundred feet of the eleven year old; though it didn't stop the youkai from following the family everywhere they went and calling out dire threats and foul names.

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><p><em>Platform 9 ¾, Kings Cross Station<br>London, England  
>10:20 A.M. Sunday September 1, 1991<em>

Ryuu slipped through the portal that led onto Platform nine and three quarters alongside both of his parents. The old fashioned bright red steam engine that they found on the other side was a bit of a surprise if not quite as awe inspiring as it was to the scant handful of other children that were in the process of boarding the train. From his perch on Takashi's shoulder, Nyanko-sensei was grumbling endlessly about everything in a voice so low and soft it sounded like the wolf spirit was giving off an unending rumbling growl.

After claiming the last compartment on the last car of the train, Ryuu spent the next half hour saying goodbye to his parents and Nyanko while studiously ignoring the growing crowds. He wasn't feeling the severe separation anxiety he'd felt the two summers earlier when he first started attending Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu but that didn't mean he wasn't already missing his parents knowing it would be several months before he next saw them.

At ten minutes to eleven, Ryuu reluctantly boarded the train and retreated to his compartment, which was thankfully still empty bar his suitcase and his two familiars (thanks in part to his familiars' current irritation that was a bleed over from his churning emotions). A stone settled in the pit of Ryuu's stomach as the train slowly pulled away from the station the moment the platform clock struck eleven. Needing something to keep his mind off the fact that he was steadily being carried away from his parents, Ryuu pulled his new pan flute out of his backpack.

Removing the flute from the protective fabric bag it had come with, Ryuu inspected the instrument for a few minutes to make certain it hadn't been damaged. The flute was a little over seven inches wide and seven inches tall; a series of ten different length bamboo pipes that were attached to each other from shortest to longest in a slight arch. Once he was satisfied the instrument hadn't been harmed, Ryuu brought it up to his mouth and tentatively began piping out a simple scale.

He was pleasantly surprised to find that the pitch of the pipes were slightly deeper than the two Japanese flutes he owned but still higher than the two ocarinas. After spending around a half an hour just practicing smoothly transitioning from pipe to pipe he began skipping around while focusing on maintaining a steady flow of air. He also found that he could make slight changes to the tone of each note by changing the angle at which he held the flute in relationship to his mouth.

After another hour of experimenting, Ryuu spent a few minutes cleaning the flute before he tucked it back into its pouch and returned it to his backpack while at the same time taking out his multi-chamber ocarina so he could play an actual song or two now that he was no longer quite so tense. He only ran through his scales once to make certain he'd positioned his fingers properly before launching into a rather melancholy melody that reminded him poignantly of home, family, and summer fading into fall. At some point, his eyes fell shut as he gave himself over completely to the music, letting the fluid notes sooth the aching in his heart and soul with Shogun sitting on his left shoulder singing along while Tenji slept contentedly curled up in his pack.

He was interrupted sometime later by the croaking of a toad. Opening his eyes he was a bit shocked to find said toad sitting on the bench directly across from him staring at him with one yellow eye as if waiting for him to continue playing. Snorting silently, by now used to random animals joining him while he played (though usually they were birds not amphibians), Ryuu started playing again; this time keeping his eyes on the toad as he played one of the more popular spring festival tunes. Not long after that he was interrupted a second time by a witch pushing a cart piled high with various wizarding snacks, treats, and candies.

Ryuu shook his head no when the witch asked him if he'd like to buy something; completely content with the box of his grandmother's taiyaki with assorted fillings he had in his pack and the order of sushi his father had purchased from the Japanese restaurant they'd discovered four years earlier when Takashi had come to England to search for family and found Ryuu. The trolley witch had barely retreated from the door when Ryuu's privacy was disturbed by a young girl with flyaway bushy hair and a chubby boy with a tear stained face; both of them looking to be about the same age as him.

"Excuse me, have you seen a toad? Neville lost him somewhere on the train," The girl inquired politely while the boy behind her gave a great sniff and shrunk in on himself.

Ryuu tilted his head to the left and used the flute in his hand to point at his temporary audience. The boy, who could only be the Neville that the girl was referring to, gave a cry of joy as he practically pounced on the poor toad. Shogun hooted imperiously as if saying good-riddance to the croaking amphibian from Ryuu's shoulder.

"Thank you so much! I didn't think I'd ever see Trevor again!" Neville babbled as he glanced between Ryuu and the young girl that had helped him search for the toad.

Ryuu simply shrugged; it wasn't as if he'd actually been the one to find the animal. It had just showed up in his compartment on its own. Figuring the two kids would leave now that they'd found the toad, Ryuu brought the ocarina back up to his mouth intent on finding inner peace once more after the multiple intrusions only to jump a bit when both girl and boy sat down across from him on the bench the toad had been occupying just a moment earlier. Lowering his flute, Ryuu glanced up and gave the pair a questioning look in order to prompt them into explaining why they'd stayed instead of returning to their own compartment.

"It was awful nice of you to keep an eye on Neville's toad instead of tossing it out of the compartment. My name is Hermione Granger and this is Neville…"

"Longbottom," Neville added shyly when Hermione paused in uncertainty and glanced his way.

"We're both first year students. Are you a first year as well? What's your name? Is that your owl? She's awfully pretty; is she a snowy owl? I thought snowy owls were much bigger and were more white and black than white and brown but no, her face is the wrong shape for her to be a snowy owl. Oh I can't wait until we get to Hogwarts! You can't imagine how much of a shock it was when I learned I was a witch but I've been ever so excited; it's like a fairy tail come true!"

Ryuu stared at the girl with wide eyes, shocked at how fast she spoke and how long she went without taking a breath. He silently wondered if she'd ever considered playing a wind instrument with such a vast lung capacity. On his shoulder, Shogun hissed out in irritation at being called a girl and flapped his wings as if planning to launch himself at the girl because of the perceived insult.

Ryuu automatically reached up with his left hand and covered the owl's face with his palm in order to calm it down while both of the first years sitting across from him stared at the owl with wide eyes with apprehension. When Shogun finally quieted, Ryuu dropped his hand and shifted nervously as he debated on whether to try signing his replies to the rapid fire questions or if he should dig out his whiteboard and markers and give them written replies. Before he reached a decision, Hermione broke the silence once again.

"What was wrong with your owl? Why won't you answer my questions? Is it because I'm a muggleborn?"

Ryuu held his hand up in the universal sign for stop and was pleasantly surprised when the girl immediately stopped talking. Tilting his head to one side, he tentatively signed; _Do you understand sign language?_

To his surprise the girl's face lit up as she signed her reply; _Yes! I learned it ages ago when I was in girl guides. Why do you ask? Are you a deaf mute? Oh no, I was just rambling on and on and I bet I was talking too fast for you to read my lips. My mother always said I talk too much._

Ryuu felt the urge to bury his face in his hands as the girl signed much like she spoke; rapidly with little to no pause in between words. Holding up his hand once again he was pleased to note that she immediately stopped again and gave him her full attention. Shaking his head a bit to clear his mind, he asked her another question.

_Would you mind translating for your friend? It doesn't look like he understands._

"I don't mind," Hermione signed and stated at the same time. "Neville, he's asking me to translate so you know what he's saying."

"He hasn't said anything though," Neville pointed out when a frown.

"He's talking with his hands. He's using sign language which is made up of various hand gestures that allow those unable to speak or hear to communicate."

When both students turned back to face Ryuu he sighed and gave his ocarina a longing glance before he began answering Hermione's questions in the exact order she'd asked them. _Yes, I am a first year student. My name is Natsume Ryuu… though I suppose you'd say it Ryuu Natsume here. Yes, Shogun is my owl, he's an Ural owl which is a species of owls found in Japan; and he was upset because you kept referring to him as a girl. _

_I didn't answer your questions right away because I wasn't certain if you understood sign language; your blood heritage had nothing to do with it. I asked if you understood sign because it is easier for me to communicate this way instead of writing everything out by hand. I am not a deaf mute; I can hear you perfectly fine. I suppose I could be considered mute since I haven't been able to speak since I was three. Did I miss any of your questions?_

Hermione had diligently translated for Neville; through she did trip over Ryuu's name since she was unfamiliar with it. Hermione opened her mouth to ask what would have been yet another series of questions when the door opened up and another three students entered the compartment.

"Harry Potter is supposed to be starting Hogwarts this year," the blonde boy in the middle declared as he stared down his nose at Ryuu and the other two students. Ryuu tensed slightly at the mention of his birth name though it wasn't immediately apparent to the other five first years; all five of whom had no training in martial arts or reading body language. "I've been searching the entire train for him in order to make certain he makes friends with the right sort of people. Is he in here?"

"No, he isn't," Hermione replied hesitantly.

"Well that's a blessing at least, wouldn't have wanted him associating with a near squib and a mudblood anyway," the blonde drawled with a sneer. "My father also instructed me to find the transfer student from the Japanese Academy of Sorcery; is that you boy? My father is on the Board of Governors and he chose me to be the foreigner's guide to insure he is properly introduced to British Magical Society."

Ryuu felt Shogun's claws digging into his shoulder through the protective leather pad he wore on his left shoulder. He didn't need his familiar's warning to know he couldn't trust the kid in front of him; the boy's less than friendly attitude and earlier statements about finding Harry Potter were enough to tell him that on their own. Making a split second's decision, Ryuu shook his head no in reply to the blonde's question and promptly made it look as if he was ignoring him; all the while watching him out of the corner of his eye in case the boy decided to attack.

"Just another mudblood then? Figures. Anyway, the three of you best keep out of my way or you'll regret messing with the Malfoys. Better yet, you should all go home instead of polluting the school with your filthy presence."

It took all of Ryuu's self control not to react to the hinted threat. He had no desire to bring any more attention to himself since he knew the blonde would eventually figure out that Ryuu had, in a way, lied to him. That in itself was an unpleasant thought but Ryuu didn't regret it at all. Arrogant, snobbish kids like the blonde were the main reason Ryuu hated interacting with other children.

No longer feeling in the mood to socialize after yet another reminder of his unpleasant past, Ryuu abruptly brought his feet up onto the bench and shoved himself into the corner furthest away from the other two as he picked up his flute once more. Ignoring all of Hermione's attempts to catch his attention, Ryuu brought his flute to his mouth and threw himself into a hauntingly bittersweet piece that matched his current mood. He didn't stop playing again until the train came to a stop two hours later and he opened his eyes to find both Hermione and Neville had stayed to listen to him.

Feeling uncomfortable Ryuu quickly packed his flute into his pack, pulled Tenji out of the pack so he could grab his Hogwarts' uniform, and settled both of his familiars on the bench before settling the robe overtop of the gakuran he'd been wearing. Shogun waited until Ryuu had settled his pack on his back before the owl reclaimed his perch while Tenji quickly climbed his way up Ryuu's back until he was sitting imperiously on his right shoulder staring at the two strangers. Hermione's unrestrained squeal of admiration of the kneazle had Tenji letting out a smug sounding purr which drew a second squeal from the girl; though she pouted a bit when Ryuu shifted out of her reach so she couldn't pet the kneazle or pluck him off his shoulder.

Eventually, the three of them made their way off the train; Ryuu trailing behind the other two as he had no wish to get caught up in the crowd of pushing and shoving students trying to all disembark at once. Once off the train, the first years were split from the ranks of the older students and directed towards an impossibly tall man with wild scraggly hair and beard. The giant of a man, who'd introduced himself as simply Hagrid, then led the group of about forty boys and girls down a sloping trail that ended on the shore of a huge lake and about sixteen flimsy looking wooden boats.

After being ordered to climb into the boats, no more than four in each one, Ryuu hung back and let the other students all crowd into the boats together. When it was obvious that there were going to be at least three boats left unoccupied, Ryuu silently slipped into a boat all by himself; once again pretending to ignore Hermione and Neville who'd been trying to get him to join them in the boat they shared. Tenji complained loudly at being so close to the water but Ryuu quickly calmed the kneazle by scratching him beneath the chin until the boats started moving after a single command from Hagrid.

As soon as they rounded a rocky outcrop that jutted out towards the center of the lake, Ryuu and all of the other first year students were greeted with their first view of Hogwarts Castle. Somehow Ryuu wasn't surprised to learn that he'd be attending classes in yet another castle and he briefly wondered if there was an unwritten rule that all magical schools must be housed in ancient castles.

As the boat slid across the glass-like surface of the lake, Ryuu couldn't help but compare the rather cold and foreboding look of the ancient Scottish castle to the elegant warmth that the Japanese Academy exuded. Of course, Ryuu's perception of both castles was currently colored by his dissatisfaction at being back in Great Britain instead of home in Japan.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gakuran – school uniform worn by boys (uniform worn by Ryuu while attending the Japanese Academy of Magic)

**Notes: **

* Dumbledore's languages. I see Dumbledore focusing more on spoken human languages (including several dead languages) and the sentient creature languages. Dumbledore is powerful enough and I didn't want him to be too perfect and in this instance I saw him ignoring sign language in favor of concentrating on those languages he was most likely to have need of either in research or when meeting with the various dignitaries around the world as Supreme Mugwump. He will, of course, correct this oversight now that he has been reminded of a language he 'missed'.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I hope I didn't bore anyone with the shopping scene; I tried to keep it short because it is hard not to get tired of reading the hundreds of different ways one can shop for the same boring school supplies. I also tried to make the wand scene with Ollivander different and purposefully left out the whole 'curious, that wand's brother gave you your scar and now you have more in common with You-Know-Who' speech. Some of you might think I should have had one of the four Heads of Houses escort Ryuu through the Alley or even Hagrid but after allowing Takashi to take Harry out of England, I think Dumbledore would have preferred to see the boy himself in order to gauge whether or not he made the right decision in allowing Takashi to adopt Harry._

**09-20-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	17. Poltergeists Plus Trolls Equal Trouble

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 16: Poltergeists plus Trolls Equal Trouble in Excess <span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>September 1991 ~ October 1991<em>

Once the new first years had been led inside of the castle and passed into the care of the Deputy Headmistress, Professor Minerva McGonagall; Ryuu did his best to fade into the background as he studied his peers. Standing apart as he was, he had a clear view of the fear that the other students were exhibiting; which seemed odd since the purebloods and halfbloods that were raised in the magical world should have known what to expect. Even the blonde kid that had been looking for him on the train seemed to be more than a little nervousness.

When Ryuu noticed Hermione and Neville apparently searching for someone amidst the other students, he melted back into the shadows at the back of the room on the off chance that they were looking for him. He wasn't really in the mood for idle chitchat and while the knowledge that Hermione could at least hold a conversation with him would have normally given him reason enough to tolerate her company he knew he wouldn't make good company right now.

A few minutes later, Professor McGonagall returned and led them out of the side room and into the Great Hall where all of the other students had apparently been waiting for them. Trailing at the back of the group, Ryuu took in the four long tables that ran the length of the hall, each one decked out in different colors, where the returning students were seated. On the raised dais, sitting perpendicular to the student tables was the staff table and Ryuu was slightly surprised to find he recognized three of the wizards sitting at the table. Headmaster Dumbledore was seated at the center of the table while a few seats to the right Kimura-sensei was speaking with a witch with long black hair; he'd expected to recognize the two of them though.

On the other hand, he was surprised to find Hatake-sensei sitting next to an unpleasant looking wizard with greasy hair on the left end of the table. Ryuu's curiosity over Hatake's presence was briefly shoved to the back of his mind as he happened to hear some of the other first years chattering excitedly over the ceiling and he glanced upwards to see a replica of the night sky splashed across the entire ceiling. It was an impressive bit of enchantment but Ryuu didn't let it capture his complete attention for long as he began studying the students seated at the four tables as they were led up to the small stage in front of the staff table where a short stool sat with a frayed hat sitting on it.

He actually tripped over his own feet, upsetting his familiars (which were perched on his shoulders as usual) and just barely managed not to fall on his face when he caught sight of several youkai seated at each of the tables. A closer look revealed them to actually be shiryou as he noticed several of the students had been eyeing the transparent beings with wariness. Tearing his eyes away from the spirits in an effort to contain the flash of fear he'd felt (generated from the slew of recent nightmares he'd been having and the undeniable fact that he was in Great Britain once more), he focused instead on the battered wizard's hat sitting on the stool.

When the first years were lined up between the staff table and the hat on the stool, the hat began shifting as if stretching itself before it suddenly began singing a song about how it would be sorting them into one of four houses. The moment the song was over and before Professor McGonagall could begin calling the students to be sorted, an oily voice disrupted the proceedings. The first few sentences out of the man's mouth had Ryuu near cringing as he glanced over his shoulder find the greasy haired wizard that he'd pegged as an unpleasant man was the source of the unwarranted attention.

"Boy, can you not follow the simplest of directions? Pets are not allowed in the Great Hall during meal times and the rules state that each student is only allowed to bring a single creature with them to school. You were also specifically instructed to leave your belongings on the train so they could be delivered to your dorm. "

_Great_, Ryuu thought bitterly to himself. _Once again I can't even get through a single day before I'm singled out in front of the entire student body._

"Snape-senpai, you are out of line," Hatake-sensei cut in before the man could say anything further and before Ryuu could respond. "Not only could you have waited until after the feast to address your concerns, you are jumping to conclusions before you even know the facts. I suggest you keep your temper and your tongue in check or I might be forced to show you the error of your ways a second time."

By this time, Ryuu had fully turned around so he was facing the staff table (and could avoid looking at the students whom he could feel staring at him) and bowed respectfully towards his sensei in silent thanks the moment the gray haired wizard glanced in his direction. His sensei then gestured for him to turn around and pay attention to the sorting once more and Ryuu quickly complied to find nearly everyone was still staring at him and his two familiars.

Tensing his shoulders he edged a little further away from the other first years and cut his eyes to the nearest door in order to judge the distance separating him from immediate freedom. He was pulled out of his growing discomfort by his familiars as Shogun fondly preened his wild hair and Tenji head butted his cheek as he purred (both of them reminding Ryuu that he was not alone). Seconds later, Professor McGonagall began calling the new students up one at a time to be sorted.

Ryuu was a little surprised when he didn't hear his name called when Professor McGonagall reached the N's and his earlier tension returned tenfold when it occurred to him that they might only have him listed as Harry Potter, the blood draining from his face at the mere thought. To his everlasting relief, the Deputy Headmistress went from Perks, Sally-Ann right to Smith, Zacharias but that relief didn't last long as he realized he hadn't been called at all. When Zabini, Blaise was sorted into Slytherin and it was only Ryuu left standing up front he wanted nothing more than to disappear forever as everyone's attention was now solely on him because he was still standing up there.

"Before we sort our last first year, there are a few things I need to say," Dumbledore announced suddenly, making Ryuu cringe as he instinctively knew he was about to be singled out yet again. "This summer saw Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry forging new bonds with our sister school in Japan and as such Hogwarts will play host to the first ever exchange student from Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu; which is also known as the Japanese Academy of Sorcery. I expect all of you to treat him with the same accord you would treat any new student."

Ryuu was practically trembling when the Headmaster finished his short speech and he let his eyes slid to the exit once more as he wondered if he could reach the door before Hatake-sensei got out of his seat. His attention was pulled back to the Deputy Headmistress when the stern witch finally called out his name.

"Natsume, Ryuu."

Taking a deep breath, Ryuu bravely squared his shoulders and walked warily towards the stool; taking extra care to not pass too close to Professor McGonagall so she wouldn't guide him with a touch on his shoulder like he'd seen her do to several of the other nervous first years. Manners, which had been endlessly drilled into him by his parents, grandparents, and teachers over the past four years, had him executing a respectful (if nervous) bow to the stern professor before he took a seat on the stool. He didn't quite suppress the automatic flinch the moment Professor McGonagall lowered the sorting hat down onto his head (forcing his familiars to drop down into his lap) nor could he prevent the second flinch when he heard a tiny voice speaking in his ear the moment the hat dropped down over his eyes.

"_**What do we have here? An intruder and a spy from another school?**_"

_What!?_ Ryuu thought frantically.

"_**Two names… two schools… two worlds… you are a strange child. By rights I should refuse to sort you because you've already set foot in another school though I can see that both Headmasters are aware that you are doing so.**_"

_Who is that speaking? How does this person know all that? What is going on!? _ Ryuu wondered as he began to panic.

"_**Calm down kid… I only know what you know because I'm sitting on your head.**_"

_On my head…? The hat is speaking to me? Wait… you can hear my thoughts!?_

"_**Of course I'm speaking to you. How else would I get the children I sort to open their minds enough to let me in? And if I couldn't hear your thoughts, how would I be able to read your mind well enough to place you in your proper house? I suppose I should find a place to put you now. The fact that you are hiding who you are means you'd do well in Slytherin as you've demonstrated a cunningness that Salazar would have admired in one so young. Sadly, the House of Snakes would break you and do their best to kill you because of your family and your disability; the once great house has fallen far in the last two centuries.**_"

Ryuu shifted uncomfortably as the hat once again hinted at knowing who he had once been, his earlier panic still present as he tried to absorb the concept that a hat was reading his mind. His hands curling around Tenji as the kneazle head butted his chest and let out a soft rumbling purr to remind him again that he wasn't alone.

"_**You are loyal and hardworking enough to fit in House of the Hardworking but you would be smothered by their friendliness and constant need to help each other. They would resent your need for solitude and make you miserable when you continued to keep them at distance. The House of Lions could teach you to tap into the latent courage that runs through your veins but they would be just as resentful of your solitary ways and should they learn you are hiding your true identity they will crucify you as a coward and call you weak.**_"

_I am NOT hiding who I am!_ Ryuu indignantly thought as he scowled beneath the hat. _I am Natsume Ryuu. _

"_**Such conviction from one so young… and yet you still fear that Harry Potter is all anyone would see should they learn the truth of who you are. Hmpf… There is only one house left… the House of Learning, the Eagles who cherish shadows, knowledge, and solitude. You will find yourself scrutinized and studied by your peers and when you do not fit into their perfect world you will be ridiculed. Sadly, children are inherently cruel to each other because it is human nature and they have not yet learned tolerance. You already know that though. Yet… it would be worse in any of the other houses and you have intelligence enough to get by… so I best put you in…**_"

"**Ravenclaw!**" The hat cried out at the end.

Ryuu felt the hat lifted from his head as a round of polite applause greeted from about half of the student population. Blinking away the spots that had formed from the sudden return of light after spending so long beneath the darkened brim of the hat, Ryuu shakily climbed to his feet after returning his familiars to their usual perches. He sidestepped Professor McGonagall's guiding hand and gave her another shaky bow in order to give his knees time to remember how to support his own weight.

He then reluctantly made his way to the table where he'd seen the other first year Ravenclaws take their seats during the sorting, his eyes automatically searching out the least crowded section of the table. He could hear the displeased mutterings of the other first years as he avoided them and more than a few from the older students that always sat near to the first years in order to study the new students as he sat down at the far end of the table where he'd be alone.

Ryuu ignored them though as he lifted Tenji down from his shoulder and placed the kneazle in his lap where he'd not shed hairs into his food. Shogun then fluttered down to perch on the corner edge of the table where the owl could steal food from Ryuu's plate should the opportunity arise; something Ryuu usually found funny as the owl would often steal off his father's or Kaname's plate as well. Once he was seated, Ryuu turned to look up at the staff table as the hall fell silent to find Dumbledore rising from his seat to address the room a second time.

A quick glance at either end of the table at his two instructors showed that both Japanese wizards frowning in his direction and Ryuu flushed with shame knowing the two men were probably disappointed with him right now. Not because of where he was sorted but because he had been sinking back into old habits and the fact that he'd chosen to isolate himself once again. Bowing his head, Ryuu swallowed thickly as he listened to Dumbledore's speech.

"Before you all enjoy the wonderful feast that has been prepared for your honor, I have a few words I'd like to say," Dumbledore intoned as he gazed out over the four tables. "And they are; kessoku, gyoumuteikei, kaigan, and shoki." And then Headmaster Dumbledore waved his wand in a wide sweeping arch that must have been some type of signal (or spell) as platters and serving bowls of food suddenly appeared on the table when he finished.

Ryuu was pleased to recognize a few familiar Japanese dishes amidst the traditional English and Scottish fare and helped himself to a bit of steamed rice and teriyaki chicken. After a moment he realized that he'd not taken the time to eat the order of sushi his father had bought for him (he'd withdrawn completely after all of the interruptions on the train) and he slipped off his pack so he could dig the plastic container out of the middle pouch and set it beside his plate.

A purred rumble and the prick of claws from the cat on his lap made Ryuu grin briefly as he pulled the lid from the sushi container and after dishing up a bit of the teriyaki chicken and a piece of sushi, placed the lid on the bench a short distance away. Tenji happily slipped off his lap and dug into the proffered food while Shogun gave a forlorn hoot at not immediately receiving the same offer. Transferring all but one final piece of sushi to his plate, Ryuu added a couple of small drumsticks to the plastic container and set it in front of the owl.

With his familiars both taken care of, Ryuu clapped his hands together and gave a silent itadakimasu before he picked up the disposable chopsticks that had come with his sushi and began eating. For a short while, Ryuu was able to pretend he was still back home as he enjoyed his meal but that only lasted until the other students once again began turning their attention to him as they finished their own meals. The main courses soon disappeared from the table to be replaced with an assortment of desserts; most of them English or Scottish in origin though he did spot a dish of green tea ice cream.

Dishing up a modest scoop of the frozen green treat along with a scoop of what turned out to be raspberry sorbet; Ryuu slowly ate his dessert and tried to ignore the many stares he kept feeling directed his way but the scrunching of his shoulders revealed the building tension he was feeling. Unable to finish his dessert due to the constant scrutiny, Ryuu shoved the bowl away and lifted Tenji back onto his lap, running his hands along the length of the kneazle's back seeking comfort from his familiar. Thankfully, the meal ended shortly after that and Dumbledore rose to give one final announcement, drawing the attention away from Ryuu at last.

"I trust everyone enjoyed the feast. Before you are dismissed for the evening there are a couple of introductions I need to make in addition to a few rules that need to be gone over. To start with, please allow me to introduce this year's Defense Against the Dark Art's professor; Kakashi Hatake who is part of the exchange program we've entered into with our Japanese sister school. I'd also like to introduce Fumio Kimura who will be hosting advanced theory and spell casting classes for those who are at least fifteen years of age or have passed their O.W.L.s; if you are interested please see Mr. Kimura sometime this week to sign up as the first class will start a week from tomorrow."

Ryuu was a bit stunned that his instructors would be teaching classes but after a moment he realized he shouldn't have been surprised since Yamamoto-shishou had mentioned something about an instructor exchange program. And this way he'd have at least one class with a familiar face in it; not counting the tutoring sessions he would be attending with Kimura-sensei.

"Moving onto the school rules; to start, all first years will need to take note that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. Many of our older students would do well to remember that as well. Next, magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes and students caught casting spells at another student with the intent of causing harm will be punished most severely. Additionally, there are several items that have been banned from the castle due to their harmful or disruptive nature; to view the list of items please stop by the caretaker's office on the second floor of the castle. Finally, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds due to structural reconstruction."

"I will now bid you goodnight; Prefects, please escort the first year students to their dorms," Headmaster Dumbledore instructed before retaking his seat.

As one, all of the students minus one rose to their feet and began heading for the double doors that led back out into the entrance hall. Ryuu sat frozen in his seat as the sea of students rushed by him, the sheer number of teens and preteens moving in the large hall overwhelming him as there were easily three times the number of bodies he was used to seeing on a daily basis (something he'd not noticed when they were all sitting down). He never heard the fifth year witches and wizards with silver shields pinned to their robes calling for the first years to follow them.

He was still sitting frozen in his seat, clutching Tenji to his stomach, when the last of the students disappeared from the hall. Up at the staff table Kimura-sensei discreetly passed five silver sickles to Hatake-sensei as the two Japanese wizards stepped down off the dais together and approached their young student. Several of the other professors were watching the unfolding scene with undisguised curiosity (or unbridled fury in the case of the school's potions master) including the Head of House of said student.

Ryuu, who was completely oblivious to everything happening around him in his current state of panic, reacted quite violently when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder. Throwing himself sideways he rolled his legs out from under the bench, knocked the hand away with a stiff armed swing of his left hand, and used his momentum to push his slight frame completely off the bench as he fell into a defensive crouch; Tenji leaping onto the table in order to avoid being squished. Heart pounding and his breathing ragged from the sudden rush of fear and adrenalin, Ryuu looked up at the person who had touched him and blanched when he saw Hatake-sensei and Kimura-sensei staring down at him with matching frowns.

_Gomen nasai, Hatake-sensei_, Ryuu automatically signed as he immediately stood up and bowed low to hide the blush that was spreading across his face. Once he had control of his emotions, and felt the heat of his blush fade a bit, Ryuu looked up to meet Hatake's mismatched gaze.

"_Natsume-kun, do you remember the discussion we had when we finished your end of term assessment?_" Hatake-sensei asked in clipped Japanese in order to spare the eleven year old a measure of embarrassment from the entire staff listening in on his chastisement.

_Hai, sensei._

"_Please refresh my memory then._"

_We spoke about the necessity of emotional control, constant awareness of one's surroundings, and the negative effects of self-imposed isolation._

"_It is good to see that there is nothing wrong with your memory. Can you please tell me how it is you managed to loose control of your emotions and loose sight of your surroundings on top of purposefully isolating yourself from your peers at the first opportunity?_"

Mortified at the reminder of how badly he'd failed already, Ryuu dropped his eyes to the floor and shook his head once to indicate that he had nothing to say. As far as he was concerned everything had gone wrong from the moment he'd returned to this cursed island and he wanted nothing more than to go home to Japan. He flinched when Hatake dropped a hand on his shoulder but didn't bother trying to pull away from the touch knowing full well just how stubborn and how strong his sensei was.

"_Natsume-kun, look at me please,_" Hatake-sensei instructed gently. When Ryuu reluctantly complied the older wizard sighed and pushed Ryuu back down onto the bench as he crouched down in front of him. "_It has been well over a year since I have seen you so jumpy; bar your brief moment of frustration when Yamamoto-shishou revealed you birth name. What happened between the time I last saw you in Yamamoto-shishou's office and today that has you so rattled?_"

Ryuu flinched again at the question, his eyes automatically dropping shut as he averted his face; his entire body taut as a bowstring as he fought to remain calm. After a few minutes, when it became apparent that Hatake wasn't going to let the matter go, Ryuu lifted his hands and shakily signed; _Their hunting me already. The youkai and the nightmares sought me out the moment I stepped off the plane. They're everywhere. There's no place for me to hide and they've grown stronger since I left._

"_I see. Your father did warn me that being back here might trigger a regression or a relapse. That doesn't explain why you are avoiding the other students though._"

_I didn't… at least not at first. Well, maybe a little in the beginning but it wasn't like that the entire time_, Ryuu protested weakly before he let out a silent huff. _I've felt on edge all day and I wanted to spend the train ride alone so I could relax a bit. It worked okay at first. A couple of first years joined me looking for a toad that had ended up in my compartment and they ended up staying. _

_Granger-san knew sign language and she was asking me a bunch of question when we were interrupted by yet another group of students looking for Harry Potter and me. The boy was a complete teme; spouting nonsense about making certain neither Potter nor myself make the wrong kind of friends. After I mislead him about who I was he insulted all three of us and then threatened us. I can't stand people like that._

"_Let me guess, after that you retreated into your shell and began ignoring everyone because it was easier than answering questions or dealing with unwanted attention, ne?_"

_The number of students here are more than three times the number there was at the academy_, Ryuu added as if that would justify his decision to eat alone tonight.

"_You will not be required to interact with every student in the castle. In fact, you will most likely deal with less than a seventh of the student population. In other words, you will only need to deal with your fellow first years on a regular basis and maybe a small handful of the older students from within your own house. Try not to let the stress get to you, Natsume-kun_," Kimura-sensei softly advised as he placed his hand on Ryuu's head and added in English. "What's done is done; right now we need to get you to your dorm."

"Flitwick-senpai?" Hatake called over his shoulder after making certain that Ryuu wasn't on the verge of pulling another disappearing act like he had after his first day of classes when he first started attending the summer sessions. When the diminutive wizard joined the trio, Hatake introduced him in order to put Ryuu at ease. "Senpai, allow me to introduce you to one of the top students in the summer sessions at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu; Ryuu Natsume. Natsume-kun this is Flitwick-sensei, he is your Head of House and the Charms instructor."

Ryuu bowed respectfully to the wizard before he signed, _It is an honor to meet a renowned duelist and it is a privilege to have the opportunity to learn from a master of your caliber._

"My, my, it's been over fifty years since I last competed on the International Dueling Circuit; I'm surprised you knew of my past triumphs. Are you an avid follower of the circuit?" Flitwick mused with a smile.

_You know sign language, sensei? _Ryuu asked a bit surprised since he thought he recalled Dumbledore saying that there weren't any teachers at the school who knew sign. When Professor Flitwick nodded, Ryuu tentatively smiled at the vertically challenged wizard as he answered his earlier question. _I don't really know anything about the Dueling Circuit. Maruyama Satoshi, my friend, he's a big fan of sports and he mentioned you when I told him I would be attending Hogwarts. _

"Ah, nothing wrong with being the friend of an avid sports fan; I'm still flattered that you paid enough attention to your friend to remember me. Well, Mr. Natsume, shall we escort you up to Ravenclaw Tower and get you settled for the evening?"

"We'll leave him in your capable hands, Flitwick-senpai," Kimura declared as he pulled a small box out of his pocket and passed it to Ryuu. "You will need this tomorrow morning. Meet me in the entrance hall at six, first, so I can show you where we will be holding your tutoring sessions."

Ryuu nodded and bowed to Hatake and Kimura before he tucked the concealed time turner into his pack, shouldered his bag, and transferred his familiars back onto his shoulders. He then signed to let Professor Flitwick know that he was ready before following the wizard out of the great hall.

"May I ask why you have two pets with you, Mr. Natsume? And why you brought them with you to the feast?" Flitwick inquired as they headed up the stairs.

_They are not pets, Flitwick-sensei, Shogun and Tenji are my familiars and they pretty much go everywhere I go. I know they will not be allowed into the Potions Lab and Kimura-sensei does not allow them to be in the room during our tutoring sessions, for their protection, but are there any other classes where it is advisable to have them wait outside?_

"Familiars? Both of them? How extraordinary," Flitwick commented as they paused to wait for the moving staircases to align themselves, something that would have disturbed Ryuu if he hadn't read about the famous staircases in Hogwarts; A History. "You should be fine taking them with you to the rest of your classes since as a first year you won't be placed into situations where a stray spell could harm one of them. However, you should request permission from Professor Sprout, she teaches Herbology and is the Head of Hufflepuff, before you take them into any of the green houses since some of the plants we raise here are carnivorous."

_Thank you for the advice, I will be certain to seek out Professor Sprout before class. _

"You're welcome, child. If I might ask, how long ago did you bond with your familiars and what is the current strength of their bonds?"

_They have been with me for about fifteen months now and I am not certain how strong the bond has became; it's been at least thirteen months since it was last checked. It was fairly strong at the time though._

"Do you mind if I cast the detection spell and check the current strength? I will need to be able to report the status of the bond to the Headmaster and the rest of the staff should be made aware of it in the event something happens to you or your familiars. Have you registered their status with the Ministry of Magic? And do you have your license for both animals?"

_I don't mind if you cast the spell. Yes, I have licenses for both of them though they are registered with the Japanese Magistrate. Yamamoto-shishou helped me register them last year. I was not aware that I would be required to registered them with the English Ministry of Magic as well; who would I need to contact in order to see that they are properly registered?_

The two of them paused on the fifth floor landing as Professor Flitwick cast the spell over Ryuu and the diminutive wizard squeaked in shock as two bright silver strings formed between the two animals and Ryuu while a third, near white string snaked off down the stairs. Shogun hooted smugly as he smoothed his chest feathers with his beak while Tenji closed his eyes and purred proudly as he rubbed his chin against Ryuu's face.

"My word, you are just full of surprises aren't you, Mr. Natsume? Where is your third familiar? Why did you not bring him or her as well? I will owl the Ministry and request the forms for you to register them with the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. While they are technically already licensed it is better to also register them with our Ministry so there can be no complications in the event that there is a dispute over their status."

_Nyanko-sensei is my father's cat. He stays with tousan because they've been together for over twenty years. I've only known Nyanko for four years,_ Ryuu replied before he thanked Flitwick for offering to help him obtain the necessary forms.

"Remarkable. I will inform Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall of the bonds and their current strength. I will also warn your fellow Ravenclaws of the consequences should they foolishly attempt to interfere with the bond and advise the other House Heads to do the same. It wouldn't do to have harm befall you and your familiar because someone wished to play a practical joke and it will hopefully avoid embroiling you in legal issues should one of your familiars attack anyone in your defense."

_Hai, sensei._

Not long after that they reached the statue that stood sentry outside of Ravenclaw Tower. Professor Flitwick then spent several minutes keying Ryuu's magical signature to the door trigger so that he could open the entrance to the Common Room without relying upon another student. Normally, those students sorted into Ravenclaw would be required to answer a riddle provided by the statue; unfortunately the statue required a verbal answer in order to trigger the magic that opened the hidden doorway leading into the tower. That meant that Ryuu would not have been able to open the entrance on his own if Flitwick hadn't magically bound him to the door's magic.

Once inside the Common Room, Professor Flitwick gave a short speech about the rules that weren't covered by Headmaster Dumbledore after the feast. These included rules of conduct within the house, weeknight and weekend curfews, the requirements for checking out library books, and a few other odds and ends. He also made it quite clear that Ryuu's familiars were not to be bothered or harmed; a firm warning that the two animals were protected by law because of the bond and if they provoked an attack they would be the ones punished, not the animals.

The last thing he told them was to be in the Great Hall no later than seven-fifteen in order to pick up this year's class schedules before he wished them goodnight and left; leaving Ryuu to the wolves (so to speak). After escaping the barrage of questions, Ryuu retreated to the boy's dorms which were located on the left hand side of the tower's second floor; the first year's dorm was the furthest room from the top of the staircase. In the room there were five bed lined up in a row along the left hand wall as you walked in, a nightstand stood to the right of each bed, a seven foot wardrobe stood on the left, and a sturdy desk and chair at the foot of each bed.

Each of the four poster beds had a single shelf built into the headboard and three sets of heavy drapes hanging from both sides and the foot of the bed, the dark blue brocade currently tied back with bronze colored ropes. Elaborate candelabras with five short, fat candles in a pyramid shape were perched on top of the bookshelf beside an old fashioned alarm clock. On the right hand wall there was a door that led to a large bathroom that the first years shared with the second years whose dorm room sat on the other side of the bathroom.

Stuck to the footboard of each bed was a brass plaque with each of the first years' last names and it only took a single glance for Ryuu to figure out the beds had been assigned in alphabetical order. That meant that Ryuu's bed was the farthest away from the door which both pleased and displeased him. He was happy to not have been placed in the center of the room but wished he'd been assigned the bed closest to the door to avoid having to cross the entire room day in and day out. Not because he didn't feel like walking the extra distance but because having the bed furthest away from the door meant he would be exposed to his roommates anytime he needed to reach his small portion of the room and again when he left the room.

Ryuu took the time to unpack Shogun's perch and Tenji's bed and change his clothes before he untied the cords holding the curtains open and crawled into bed. Curling up beneath the covers, Ryuu closed his eyes and prayed that sleep would come easy for him that night. Unsurprisingly, both kneazle and owl joined him in his bed, ignoring the perch and pet bed (like they usually did); Tenji crawling beneath the covers with the eleven year old while the owl perched itself on top of the headboard.

Feeling just a little more secure with his familiars watching over him, Ryuu drifted off into sleep.

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><p>The first week of classes was one long nightmare for Ryuu. The classes themselves weren't too terrible and he actually found them quite interesting; especially Charms class which was taught by his Head of House and Defense which was taught by Hatake-sensei. One of the biggest problems was that Ryuu was far ahead of his peers in theory, wand movements, and History thanks to the two summer sessions he'd attended. (Though History was currently his least favorite class because it was taught by a ghost.)<p>

Then there was the fact that his notes and essays were clean, legible, and practically artistic due to how much effort he'd put into his penmanship both before and during his Calligraphy classes. On top of earning the resentment of his peers for being so far ahead of them there were the constant confrontations with the Malfoy boy, who'd been more than a little peeved that he'd lied on the train. And the worst was the fact that the school's ghosts (minus Binns as the man barely noticed anything) had taken to seeking him out no matter where he was or what he was doing (his amulet not deterring the ghosts in the least).

Many of them constantly attempted to communicate with him on a daily basis; especially the Gray Lady who was the ghost of Ravenclaw. This made many of the older Ravenclaws jealous because the Gray Lady was notorious for rarely ever being seen and never speaking to anyone (the knowledge that she had once spoken to Tom Riddle a secret no one as of yet knew). The older Ravenclaws also thought Ryuu was disrespecting the ghost when he refused to speak to her and instead fled the room whenever she approached him.

Between the stress of all those difficulties, his lack of sleep due to the continued nightmares, and the toll that turning time took on him, Ryuu's health took a sharp nose dive and by the end of the week he'd grown pale, had dark circles beneath his eyes, barely touched his food at each meal, and stopped communicating outside of class. He even stopped playing his flutes as his frustration and fears assaulted him constantly; taking his aggravation out in his martial arts lessons each afternoon by taking a far more aggressive approach to his practice and spars than he ever had before.

Everything came to a head on Friday evening when all of the students were heading into the Great Hall for supper. Ryuu had just stepped off the main staircase leading down from the upper levels into the entrance hall on his way to the Great Hall when Peeves the Poltergeist crossed his path for the first time. Like the other spirits in the castle, Peeves was immediately drawn to the spiritual power that Ryuu radiated though instead of just wanting to speak with the child the poltergeist attacked him and his familiars with borderline harmful pranks. Ryuu, already wound tight from the week's stress, reacted violently without any hesitation.

He gave out a sharp whistle that sent Shogun on the offensive as the owl screeched and clawed at the poltergeist's face and arms. Tenji launched himself off of Ryuu's shoulder at the same time and landed on Peeve's back so that the poltergeist had trouble hovering out of Ryuu's reach. The noise of course had drawn a large number of curious students that were followed by several concerned professors and they all arrived in time to see Ryuu pull back and deck the poltergeist between the eyes. The punch was powered with both accidental magic and Ryuu's spiritual power and it sent Peeves flying across the room where he crashed into the wall separating the entrance hall from the Great Hall, sending chips of stone exploding outwards and leaving a noticeable dent in the wall.

Panting from the sudden surge of adrenalin, his frustration at being hunted by the specters for the past week, and the amount of power rushing through his veins; Ryuu swung around to glare at the rest of the ghosts that had been following him and settled into an attacking stance. The scar on the side of his face was glowing brightly as his aura crossed into the visible spectrum when his magic interacted with the spiritual power that he was emitting and a rainbow of colors literally swirled around him like a maelstrom as his familiars returned to his side.

It took Hatake, Kimura, Flitwick, and Dumbledore nearly twenty minutes to calm Ryuu down at that point (after spending almost an equal amount of time shooing away the curious students that had gathered). That was the last day the ghosts hounded him throughout his days and whenever they crossed paths during the course of the day now, the ghosts would bow and disappear through the nearest wall. Ryuu would spend that first weekend recovering from the disastrous week, spending several hours talking with Hatake-sensei about how stressed out he'd been.

His violent outburst actually benefited him in more ways than just spooking the ghosts into giving him space as he gained the knowledge that he was strong enough to protect himself so long as he didn't let his fear get to him. The small measure of confidence he gained from that knowledge affected his nightmares in a positive way as well as he slowly stopped dreaming about the youkai attacking him. He still had nightmares about poisonous green lights, insane laughter, and murderous red eyes but those were much easier to cope with than the visions of the youkai constantly attacking him.

After that weekend spent healing both mentally and physically, Ryuu's behavior gradually reverted back to what it had been during his previous school years. He ignored the majority of the school's population, spent his free time playing his flutes, and pushed himself in his classes and outside studies. He began spending study periods in the library (now that the ghosts weren't hounding him) and after another couple of weeks found himself with a pair of study partners in the form of Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom.

Ryuu apologized to them the first time they asked to join him during the middle of his fourth week; letting them know he wasn't a very social person under normal circumstances and that the stress of leaving everything familiar behind had only amplified the problem. Hermione and Neville, both of whom were outcasts in Gryffindor, were both quick to forgive him and they apologized for thinking ill of him during the previous weeks. During the first few study sessions the trio held together, Hermione was often frustrated by Ryuu's apparent genius until Ryuu flat out told her that he'd been taking magical courses during the summer for the last two years.

That led to an exchange of knowledge between the two of them since they were both intelligent; Hermione because she was a borderline genius with a near photographic memory and Ryuu because he'd worked hard over the past four years. Neville, while timid, clumsy, and extremely forgetful, was far from stupid as well as he knew far more about Herbology than the other two; having hidden in his grandmother's greenhouses on more than one occasion when he was upset. He also had a firm grasp on the various properties of the plants used in potions but his fear of Snape and his innate clumsiness prevented him from doing well in Potions.

Ryuu also had issues in Potions class because of Professor Snape; the wizard having never forgiven Ryuu for being humiliated by Hatake-sensei in front of the entire student body during the start of term feast (even though that had not been Ryuu's fault). The man constantly questioned Ryuu in class only to take off points when he didn't answer verbally; absolutely refusing to read the answers from Ryuu's whiteboard.

After the first month, when the behavior didn't taper off, Ryuu brought the matter up with Kimura-sensei who approached Hatake-sensei and Professor Flitwick with the issue and Hatake went and had another private conversation with Professor Snape. The result of that was that Snape began ignoring Ryuu entirely in class which benefited the Hufflepuffs and other Ravenclaws that he was often paired with during the class.

By the time Halloween rolled around, Ryuu had settled into his daily routine and all traces of his earlier stress had disappeared. Each morning he was up by five thirty and down in the warded dungeon classroom where he had his tutoring sessions with Kimura-sensei from six until eight. He would then turn back two hours and head back up to his dorm where he took his time getting ready for the day's classes before heading down to the Great Hall for breakfast where he'd meet with Hermione and Neville so they could walk to class together.

The first class of the day was always a double period; Charms on Mondays and Wednesdays, Transfiguration on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Potions with the Hufflepuffs on Fridays. Directly after that first class, the first years had an hour of History with Professor Binns every day of the week immediately followed by an hour study period. Ryuu, Hermione, and Neville would study together in the library for that hour before heading to the Great Hall together for lunch.

Directly after lunch they had another double lesson; Herbology on Mondays and Wednesdays, Defense Against the Dark Arts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and a free period on Fridays that was eventually filled with Flying Lessons for the first years. Right after that first afternoon class Ryuu would meet with Hatake-sensei for two hours of martial arts lessons after which the two of them would turn back two hours so Hatake-sensei could teach his afternoon Defense classes while Ryuu joined Hermione and Neville in the library for their afternoon studying sessions.

The trio would then head to supper after which they would return to the library to finish their daily assignments before going to their Astronomy lessons together on Mondays and Wednesdays. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays Ryuu would head back to his dorm early so he could work on the non-magical assignments Taki sent to him on a weekly basis. The last thing Ryuu did each night was write his parents a short letter before spending a half an hour meditating before turning in for the night.

His weekends followed a similar schedule though in place of his magical classes, he spent his time working on the non-magical assignments he hadn't completed during the week and going over the music scores that Chikafuji-sensei had given him to practice during the year so he'd be prepared for next summer's advanced music class (all without turning back any time).

Both Hermione and Neville benefited from spending time with Ryuu. While the three of them weren't quite friends, they were slowly heading in that direction. Hermione, who in the beginning, often sought to be the first at everything and always thrust her hand up in the air in order to answer questions during the lecture slowly stopped seeking extra attention from the professors.

She also toned down her tendency to show off her knowledge and stopped nagging her fellow first year Gryffindors about doing their homework which effectively helped her to get along better with her dorm mates and housemates. By the time Halloween arrived this meant that she was no longer inclined to force her advice on her fellow students which meant that one Ronald Weasley would have no reason to cruelly cut her down and meant she would not be caught by a mountain troll in the girl's bathroom during the feast.

Neville, on the other hand, slowly began outgrowing his shyness as he spent more and more time around the outspoken Hermione with the silent support of Ryuu. With both Hermione and Ryuu tutoring him, he slowly began doing better in all classes except potions (since Snape still picked on Neville). Ryuu and Hermione also began teaching him sign language so that the three of them could speak during their tutoring sessions in the library without drawing the attention of the easily irritated Madam Pince.

When Ryuu learned that Snape was picking on Neville the same way he used to pick on him, he dragged the poor boy to Hatake-sensei and coaxed him into speaking about the matter with his sensei. Shortly after that, Neville's grade in Potions began improving and Neville's confidence began growing more consistently as Snape was encouraged to curb his acidic tongue.

On Halloween night, Ryuu's luck would once again take a turn for the worse as Peeves the Poltergeist sought revenge for what had happened at the end of the term's first week. It had taken the poltergeist nearly the full two months to recover from the magically enhanced spiritual punch, the poltergeist's spiritual energy having been drained by Ryuu's magic to the point where he was practically nothing more than a ghost. Ryuu had been heading down to the Halloween Feast alone with only his familiars for company when the poltergeist struck.

Using a net the demon had found in the old armory, Peeves had catnapped Tenji who had been trailing along a few feet behind Ryuu as he curiously sniffed about the feet of the various suits of armor. When he heard Tenji cry out, Ryuu had spun around in time to see Peeves rocketing down the hall with the entrapped kneazle while cackling madly. Rage surged through Ryuu and he immediately took off after the disappearing poltergeist with Shogun leading the way from the air above; the owl following Tenji's cries.

What followed was a forty-five minute long wild goose chase through the entire castle as the damn youkai always seemed to be one step ahead of Ryuu and Shogun. When the pair finally caught up to the bothersome spirit, they found him hanging the net with the trapped Tenji from a chandelier in an old unused classroom on the second floor.

About the time Ryuu was squaring off to beat the tar out of the poltergeist for the second time, Professor Quirrell, the Muggles Studies professor, was staggering into the Great Hall to announce that a troll had some how found its way into the castle. Professor Dumbledore, on the advice of Hatake-sensei, ordered the staff to track down the beast while the students were to be locked inside the Great Hall with Hagrid for their protection.

As Hatake was passing by the Gryffindor table on his way out to look for the troll, a tearful Hermione Granger and a white faced Neville Longbottom had accosted him and informed him that Ryuu hadn't come to the feast as he'd promised. Word of the missing student spread through the Great Hall like wild fire and the staff froze for an instant before they burst into action in hopes they could find the boy before the troll found him.

Ryuu wasn't concerned about trolls right that minute. He had the demonic poltergeist in his sights and he was fit to be tied when he saw his familiar being treated so roughly. Not even bothering to pull his wand out of the holster that was currently fixed to the inside of his left sleeve of his robes; Ryuu pulled his hanbo (which he'd been given permission to carry for protection against he poltergeist after he'd promised to never use it on a student outside of supervised spars) off his back and grasped one end in both hands as he took a running jump.

Just before gravity reasserted itself, he swung the short staff as hard as he could and cracked the poltergeist in the middle of his back while Shogun once again attacked the demon's face. His scar lit up the classroom with silver light as he landed on his feet and swung the staff upwards a second time, nailing the poltergeist right between the legs. When Peeves hit the wall and slid down to the floor from the force of the blow, Ryuu rushed forward and lashed out with his left foot to kick the poltergeist in the head, sending him crashing across the room.

Magic and spiritual energy coalesced around Ryuu as he silently snarled at the youkai and jabbed one end of the hanbo into the poltergeist's chest hard enough to draw blood. He was just about to finish the youkai off with a final blow to the head when the door to the classroom shattered. Spinning around, Ryuu jumped backwards in fear as a huge, greenish-gray beast shoved its way into the classroom; the sounds of his fight with the poltergeist had caught the attention of the troll.

Ryuu's first instinct was to flee the room and hope he could lose the monster in the maze of halls and staircases. A pitiful yowl from the still trapped Tenji broke Ryuu's heart though as he shot a quick glance up at his familiar still hanging from the chandelier. After sending a silent apology to his parents and his instructors for not escaping as they'd taught him to do when outclassed; Ryuu fell into a defensive stance as the troll finally made it all the way inside of the room.

His hanbo broke after the third time he blocked the troll's club and he tossed aside one half of the ruined staff and held the remaining half with the jagged end aimed at the beast. He then pulled out his holly wand and tried to knock it off its feet with a tripping jinx. When that didn't work, Ryuu traded his holly wand for his practice wand and began letting out sharp piercing whistles that sent Shogun out of the room and irritated the troll to no end.

Once Shogun was clear, Ryuu purposefully overpowered a _Lumos_ spell using his practice wand as he covered his eyes with one arm; the bright light temporarily blinding both Tenji and the troll and affecting Ryuu through the familiar bond. Unable to see, the troll tripped over its feet and crashed to the floor; one arm smacking into Ryuu who hadn't seen the arm coming his way; the force of the blow breaking several ribs as it knocked him off his feet.

Not wasting any time, Ryuu scrambled back up onto his feet and placed his wand in his mouth as he grabbed the broken half of his hanbo with both hands. Dashing forward as best he could (injured as he was), Ryuu thrust the jagged end of the broken staff through the eye of the troll; the magic and spiritual energy that had been swirling around him since his fight with the poltergeist lending power to the blow, effectively killing the troll. Still clinging to the broken hanbo, Ryuu sank to his knees as tears filled his eyes as the pain exploded across his chest now that he and Tenji were no longer in danger. His magic fluttered out and his scar ceased glowing just as he sagged against the dead troll.

At the same time six professors burst into the destroyed room; the group of them led there by a frantic Shogun. The memory of what they found that night would stay with them forever; the ruined classroom, the battered poltergeist, the frightened and bruised kneazle hanging from the ceiling, the dead troll, and the injured and blood covered Ryuu clinging to the weapon he'd used to kill said troll as he slowly fell unconscious.

Professor Flitwick set about rescuing the trapped familiar once he shook himself out of his shock while Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape went to deal with the poltergeist. Hatake-sensei and Kimura-sensei rushed to their student's side to determine how seriously he'd been injured while Professor Dumbledore dealt with disposing of the remains of the dead troll.

Word of Ryuu's battle with the troll would spread through the castle before the night was over.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gomen nasai – I'm sorry  
>Gyoumuteikei – business partnership<br>Hai – yes  
>Itadakimasu – expression of gratitude offered before meals<br>Kaigan – enlightenment/spiritual awakening  
>Kessoku – unity<br>Shoki – desire/hope

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I know this chapter seemed to move very quickly and you can expect all future chapters from here on out to keep the same fast pace as I move Ryuu/Harry through his first several years at Hogwarts; only highlighting certain events and skimming over the rest. ~ Jenn_

**09-24-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	18. Possessed Professors Should Be Avoided

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 17: Possessed Professors Should Be Avoided at all Costs<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>November 1991 ~ June 1992<em>

Ryuu ended up spending two days in the school's infirmary recovering from six broken ribs, a punctured lung, and severe magical exhaustion. Tenji never moved from his side despite Madam Pomfrey's wishes and the irate healer had been forced to heal the kneazle of its minor bruises before Ryuu would allow her to heal his own injuries (much to her frustration). As the healer worked, Ryuu weakly told Hatake-sensei about the poltergeist attacking Tenji, the chase through the castle trying to get him back, the fight with the demon, and what happened when the troll showed up. He also apologized profusely for not escaping when he could; explaining that he couldn't just leave Tenji stranded and at the mercy of the troll.

When Neville and Hermione visited him during their free time the following morning, both of his almost friends asked him why he wasn't in Gryffindor. Ryuu had laughed and told them he wasn't brave enough to which Hermione had scoffed and asked him why he'd fought a troll then. Ryuu solemnly told her he would not have stuck around to fight the troll if not for Tenji being trapped. That had led to an hour long discussion on the familiar bond, the effect it has on both wizard and familiar, and why the law punishes those interfering with such a bond so harshly.

He also bluntly told them that if not for the troll interfering he'd have killed the poltergeist without any regrets for attacking Tenji and there would have been nothing anyone could have done to punish him for it because the kneazle was his familiar. Said poltergeist had vanished shortly after the battle had ended and would not be seen or heard from again until just before Easter.

Once Ryuu was released from the Hospital Wing, he was hounded for nearly two days straight by the other students looking to hear the details of his battle first hand. He didn't get any peace until Dumbledore ordered the students to leave him alone unless they wanted to be given a week's worth of detentions. Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor's pranking twins and brothers to Ron Weasley, dubbed Ryuu an honorary Gryffindor after that night and would often pretend to worship him whenever they crossed paths in the Great Hall during meal times. At the same time several of the older Hufflepuffs declared him an honorary Hufflepuff for the loyalty he'd shown to his kneazle when word got out that Ryuu had fought the troll to protect his familiar from the beast.

The only house that didn't offer honorary membership was the Slytherins, they didn't try to antagonize the first year (he'd just fought and killed a troll after all) but they often sneered at him and glared at him when they could. On the other hand, Professor Snape actually began treating him with just a little more respect (instead of just simply ignoring him) during classes as he'd been shaken by the revelation that the boy could take down a mountain troll singlehandedly just because his familiar potentially could have been harmed. (Severus Snape was Slytherin enough to realize you don't poke pointy sticks at sleeping dragons to antagonize them if you wish to live a long and happy life).

His fellow Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff first years benefited from Snape's new respectfulness during classes as the man actually toned down his sneers, glares, and taunts and focused on making certain no one goofed off during the class. The Gryffindor/Slytherin Potions class on the other hand was still the partial war zone it had been since the first day of class; much to Snape's irritation. The only staff member that wasn't impressed with Ryuu's achievement was a teacher he didn't even have classes with. Professor Quirenus Quirrell watched Ryuu from the shadows with undisguised hatred, furious that what he considered a weak and powerless first year had managed to take down the troll he'd let into the castle before he even had a chance to make use of it as a distraction.

Eventually, the attention Ryuu was receiving faded into the background of day to day school life and Ryuu was able to settle back into his comfortable routine. The supportive letters he received from his parents helped as he'd been more than a little afraid that they'd have been disappointed and angry with him over his choice to stay and defend Tenji from the threat of the Troll. Instead they had praised him for being honest with them over the incident, concerned over his injuries, and relieved that he had recovered so quickly with the help of magic.

They'd also been very understanding of his choice to protect his familiar; helped in no small part by their knowledge of exactly what the familiar bond entails thanks to the discussion Takashi had had with Hatake-sensei at the end of the first week of his first summer session and the book he'd purchased the day they bought the two familiars from the pet store. They also had first hand knowledge of what interference with that bond did to the familiar as Nyanko-sensei had gone quite mad when the bond had been blocked when Ryuu had climbed down inside the warded room in the ancient ruins two summers earlier.

With the winter holidays fast approaching, Ryuu was looking forward to spending close to three weeks with his parents in Hogsmeade where they'd moved into one of the vacant Potter properties. After a long debate, Takashi and Taki had decided it was more important to be close to Ryuu instead of close to London where it would be easier to find a job. They were currently the only non-magical residents living in the all wizarding village but they didn't advertise their lack of magical talent to the general population.

Taki had even taken a job waiting tables at the Three Broomsticks (most simply thinking her a weak witch or a squib since she didn't use a wand) as well as offered tutoring to the village children that were too young to attend Hogwarts; teaching them reading, writing, and basic math. Takashi on the other hand commuted into Fort William four days a week where he worked as a councilor at a mental institution thanks to the help of Sander Bongledash. He spent quite a bit of time traveling by train back and forth between Hogsmeade and Fort William but he felt it was worth it in order to be close to Ryuu.

On his days off he would methodically search out the local youkai, whom were just as twisted as those he'd encountered down in England, and set about sealing, exorcising, or just chasing them off with the help of Madara. He had high hopes of thinning out the demon population before Ryuu left the relative safety of Hogwarts for the winter break. He also put up barriers around the perimeter of the property they were living on in order to keep out the more dangerous youkai in the area when there was only a week left before Ryuu was expected to join them.

Meanwhile at the school, Ryuu was speaking with Flitwick-sensei and Kimura-sensei about testing out of the History of Magic on the grounds that the 'professor' was covering stuff he'd covered in Cultural Studies during his two summer sessions. He'd grown to tolerate the ghostly teacher as the spirit was one of the few that had never stalked him at the beginning of the year (the professor being far too tied to his daily routine and having absolutely no interest in the living) but that didn't mean he wanted to continue covering the same material he'd learned nearly two years earlier.

In the end, Professor McGonagall was called in to discuss the possibility of Ryuu testing out of first year History. It was eventually decided that he would be taking two tests in order to do so; the end of term history exam for both first and second year. Hermione was slightly jealous when she found out but she didn't make as big of a deal about it as she would have at the beginning of the school year.

On the last day of term, Hermione and Neville asked Ryuu what he was planning on doing over winter break and what he'd like for Christmas. He surprised them when he offhandedly told them that he and his parents didn't celebrate Christmas. Neville was also surprised to find out that Ryuu was staying in Hogsmeade since so few new families were allowed to purchase property there because it was all owned by old money and purebloods.

Ryuu, as had been suggested by his father when he'd first been told where they'd be staying while in Scotland, simply said that his family was renting the house they were staying in. Neville then revealed that his grandmother was opening up the Longbottom cottage in Hogsmeade that year so they could spend Christmas together without going through the hassle of dealing with the Express. Hermione on the other hand was supposed to be going skiing with her parents and wished she too could have stayed in Hogsmeade.

The trio then split up to pack what they'd need to take with them over the holidays before meeting back up at the entrance hall. All of those first years going home by train were soon shuffled off to the boats down at the dock while those going to Hogsmeade were sent out the main door with the older students where about forty carriages waited to take the students to Hogsmeade and Hogsmeade Station. The moment Ryuu stepped outside and looked up at the carriages he froze as forty reptilian looking horses with glowing white eyes and leathery looking wings turned as one to look right back at him.

He knew… he knew, without even knowing what they were, that they were yet another form of youkai. They were also very interested in him and those closest to where he was standing actually moved closer to him. He'd been about to flee back inside the castle (not liking the odds of being outnumbered forty to one) when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder and he looked up to find Hatake-sensei standing behind him.

"They will not harm you, Natsume-kun," Hatake assured him. "They are naturally curious animals."

_You can see these youkai? Does that mean they have magic like the shiryou and the poltergeist that live in the castle?_

"Yes, there are many witches and wizards can see them. They are called thestrals and are often considered bad omens because in order to see them you had to have witnessed death. Whether or not you still would have been able to see them prior to the incident that occurred on Halloween, I couldn't say. These particular animals were trained by Groundskeeper Hagrid."

"Only trained 'erd o' thestrals in all o' Europe," Hagrid bragged when he overheard Hatake's short speech to Ryuu. "Raised every one o' them from foals myself. Never seen 'em so taken with a student before though."

Ryuu nodded numbly as Hatake guided him into one of the carriages alongside Neville who softly admitted that he too could see the thestrals. That soft confession snapped Ryuu out of his stupor and he spent the entire ride working with the other boy on improving his sign language. When the carriage rolled to a stop about twenty minutes later, Ryuu slipped out of the coach and turned to study the thestrals once more.

Many of the older students snickered at him, commenting on his fascination with horseless carriages. Their teasing comments immediately stopped when Shogun took to the air for a moment before bravely landing on the head of the thestral that had pulled their coach; freaking out some of the older students because they couldn't see what the owl was perched on. When the thestral tried attacking the owl, Shogun pecked it hard on the head between the eyes before returning to Ryuu's shoulder.

"Best keep yer owl away from the thestrals," Hagrid warned a moment later; the groundskeeper having witnessed the entire spectacle. "Thestrals are carnivorous and they have been known to eat owls and other large birds. They were trained to avoid 'em but allowing yer familiar to taunt 'em is only going to make them mad."

Ryuu nodded and turned away from the demonic looking horses and stopped short when he saw both of his parents waiting for him. A second later, he was tearing across the distance separating him from them, his familiars clinging to his shoulders for dear life. A near flying tackle was intercepted by his father and Ryuu soon found himself grinning like a loon as his father spun him around in a circle before setting him down so he could hug his mother.

Those students that were around to witness the spectacle were rather shocked at the display since they all knew Ryuu as a rather reclusive and cold person since he mostly ignored everyone but the instructors, Hermione, and Neville. The last one Ryuu greeted was Nyanko-sensei, cuddling the fat cat while said cat tried to pretend he wasn't just as happy to see Ryuu in return. Ryuu then introduced his parents to Neville who in turn introduced them to his grandmother who'd been waiting just a short ways away from where Ryuu's parents had been standing.

When it became apparent that both families were heading in the same direction, they fell into step together. Ryuu and Neville walking slightly behind their guardians while carrying on a silent conversation to the surprise of Neville's grandmother. When they reached the section of Hogsmeade where they were staying it was a bit of a pleasant shock for both boys to find that they would be neighbors for the entire break. They parted a few minutes later with fevered promises to meet up the next afternoon.

The small family spent rest of that first day and night exchanging stories about their experiences over the past four months (expanding on the details that had only been hinted at in the letters they had exchanged). Supper consisted of all of Ryuu's favorite dishes, including a couple different kinds of sushi, deep fried calamari rings, and most importantly freshly made taiyaki for desert; things Ryuu hadn't had since summer. He'd finished his stash of taiyaki early in the first week of classes when his spirits were at their lowest.

That night, Ryuu slept in his parents' room so he could listen to their breathing and know this wasn't just a dream. Tenji and Nyanko both curled up with him as well; adding to the growing feeling of contentment he had just being with his family again. Now, if only his grandparents could be there too. To his shock and utmost joy, his father returned home the next afternoon with his grandparents in tow; the elderly couple having just flown in to Scotland in order to spend the winter break with the family.

Those two and a half weeks were the best Ryuu had experienced since he'd landed at Heathrow Airport with his parents. He spent his mornings getting ahead on his non-magical classes, his afternoons hanging out with Neville and exploring the town (Nyanko-sensei dogging his heels to protect him from the youkai), and his evenings with his parents and grandparents. On Christmas morning, he was a little surprised to receive a modest pile of presents from his friends and a handful of other people (their family having decided to follow local traditions to allow Harry to experience what he'd missed out on growing up in Japan).

He received a new hanbo from Hatake-sensei, a new Training Wand from Kimura-sensei (as his old one was quickly approaching the maximum spell storage and he hadn't wanted to wipe them clean), an accountant's ledger for his trust account from Sander Bongledash, and a book titled the Bestiary by Newt Scamander (author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them) that had more in depth descriptions of all the magical animals and over one thousand moving photographs of the animals from Hermione and Neville.

He also received a book of sheet music written for the pan flute and the entire score for two of Andrew Lloyd Weber's most popular musicals from his parents, a new shougi board and an assortment of Japanese candies from his grandparents, a sample box of popular wizarding candies from Professor Flitwick (something the diminutive wizard purchased for all of his students every year), a wizard's chest set and a bag of lemon drops from Headmaster Dumbledore, and a strange silvery cloak that had once belonged to his biological father from an anonymous sender.

Ryuu had also given out gifts to friends and family alike; to Neville he'd picked up a two year subscription to BBC Gardener's World (a British gardening magazine) and Hortus (a quarterly gardening journal that was more book than magazine). For Hermione, he'd sent off an owl order (through the Hogsmeade Postal Service) for copies of the two textbooks he'd used for Cultural Studies the past two years; he'd give them to her when he saw her once they returned to school. To Hatake-sensei, Kimura-sensei, Flitwick-sensei, and Dumbledore-shishou, and Neville he sent a box of homemade Japanese treats and candies that he'd helped his grandmother make. (Hermione would also receive a box of homemade treats but he held off sending them to her until he received the books he ordered.)

For his parents and grandparents, Ryuu gave them a private concert featuring the new songs he'd been working on for the past few months. He also gave a delicate gold chain with a winged horse pendant to his mother, an animated statue of Nyanko-sensei he'd had made at a shop in Hogsmeade over the break to his father, a silver necklace with a unicorn pendant to his grandmother, an old fashioned pocket watch that ran on magic to his grandfather, and a packet of Ice Mice to Nyanko-sensei who glared at Ryuu when his mouth froze shut while his teeth chattered and squeaked after eating the first one. The oddness of celebrating the western holiday for the first time was soon forgotten in the joy of exchanging gifts and spending time with his family.

All too soon, Ryuu and Neville were climbing back into the thestral drawn carriages and returning to the castle. Ryuu carried with him a fresh batch of taiyaki in his backpack and was softly running through the score for the song Music of the Night which was from the musical Phantom of the Opera while Neville had his nose buried in the first volume of Hortus, devouring every last bit of information he could from the gardening journal. Both boys had grown a little closer over the break as they'd spent a considerable amount of time together exploring the village rather than just studying together in the library.

Ryuu had even began thinking that he might ask Neville if he'd liked to attend the coming summer session at the academy since Ryuu needed to sponsor someone and who better than someone he was slowly starting to consider a friend? The only thing he worried about was Hermione feeling left out again like she had when she learned that Neville and Ryuu would be spending winter break together in Hogsmeade.

The moment the two first years stepped into the castle they were attacked by a bushy-haired missile with arms of steel. Ryuu froze at the unexpected contact as did Neville (the still somewhat timid boy never expecting to be hugged by a girl). Only the fact that the hug was over before Ryuu's brain began functioning again saved him from reacting in an embarrassing manner such as unintentionally tossing the girl across the room. That was a good thing because it probably would have ruined their budding friendship. Once he'd recovered, Ryuu silently passed Hermione her presents; her books had only arrived a couple of days earlier after all so he'd been unable to send them ahead of time and she might have read more into the gift if he'd sent her the homemade treats separately.

Ryuu got his History test results back that evening when he was asked to stay behind after the return feast to speak with Professor Flitwick. It turns out that Flitwick had been sneaky when he'd given Ryuu the test, combing the first and second year test into one exam and giving him the third year exam to see if bumping him up to the third year class would be effective based upon what Kimura-sensei had told him was covered over in Intermediate Cultural Studies; which is what Ryuu was signed up to take this coming summer. He'd completely passed the combined first and second year exam but only got about fifty percent of the third year exam correct; which told Flitwick that Ryuu would be bored in third year history if he started after the summer term and still miss half of the material if he started it now.

Professor Flitwick decided, with Headmaster Dumbledore's and Professor McGonagall's consent, that Ryuu would be able to drop History of Magic (he did already pass the end of the year test after all) and would use the hour as an extra study period and start fourth year history at the start of the next year providing he could take the third year exam a second time at the end of his summer session and pass it. That news pleased Ryuu to no end, because it meant that he'd have an extra hour to work on his junior high class assignments or practice on his flutes and he would no longer have to sit through lessons with the ghostly instructor for the rest of the year.

It did not take long for the three almost friends to fall back into their daily routines of going to class, studying in the library, and ignoring the likes of Malfoy. It was during one of their afternoon study sessions a bout a month after the winter break when they over heard three of Neville and Hermione's fellow Gryffindors talking in hushed voices about some huge three headed dog that they'd supposedly found in the castle. After listening to them for a few minutes, the trio began ignoring them, thinking the three boys were just making it up to make it seem like they were braver than they actually were. After all, if there really was a three-headed dog as big as house in the castle there would have been far more rumors of its presence circulating through the student population.

A couple of weeks before spring break and the Easter holidays, Ryuu, Hermione, and Neville were approached by the same three boys talking about the three-headed dog. Only this time the three boys were looking for someone to help them with their homework because they were in serious danger of failing their classes. Ron Weasley, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnegan were well known as Gryffindor's equivalent of Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle. Both trios were extremely prejudiced, both had two members of seemingly subpar intelligence, and both trios constantly bullied those around them.

Dean Thomas and Draco Malfoy we're both average students but Dean was too busy drawing or goofing around with Ron and Seamus to bother doing his homework. The fact that it was Ron (the one with the least amount of common sense or intelligence in the group) who was their leader meant that there was no motivation to actually do school work or bother studying for tests. Without Malfoy's help Crabbe and Goyle would also be in dire straights as far as grades were concerned. And that was why the Gryffindor trio of Dunderheads was currently standing beside the table where Ryuu, Hermione, and Neville had been going over the Transfiguration essay that was due the next day.

"Professor McGonagall told us that you were going to help us get caught up with our work," Weasley stupidly declared as he dropped a pile of scrolls on top of Ryuu's book. "Here's everything I still need to turn in; just make certain you get it back to me before tomorrow morning when you're finished writing everything up."

Ryuu looked up at the red haired boy without any emotion as he intentionally pushed the scrolls off his book and onto the floor. Now, Ryuu wasn't typically rude to anyone, no matter how much he disliked a person, but even he had limits when dealing with idiots. McGonagall-sensei had, of course, asked Ryuu and Hermione if they'd be willing to tutor a couple of students and they had both reluctantly agreed so long as the students they were helping made an effort.

What Weasley had just basically done was instruct Ryuu to actually do his work for him and have several weeks' worth of backlogged homework finished in a single night. There was no way Ryuu was going to tolerate that crap from the creep that often insulted him when he thought he couldn't hear. Weasley's ears had turned red in anger the moment the stack of parchments hit the floor and immediately tried to threaten Ryuu, "What the hell do you think you're playing at? If you don't pick those up right now and start working on them I'm going to tell McGonagall…"

"Tell Professor McGonagall what?" Hermione challenged with a glare. "That you're upset because we refuse to do your work for you? That you're upset because we aren't allowing you to run along and play your stupid little games?"

_Don't waste your breath, Hermione_, Ryuu signed before he closed his book. _Weasley no baka isn't going to care about his work no matter what we say. _

"Ryuu is absolutely correct, Hermione," Neville added as he began packing up the various essays he'd just finished. "I don't know why the two of you agreed to even try tutoring them knowing that they'd expect you to just do the work for them instead of just going over the material and maybe proofing their essays."

"I suppose… I just never thought they'd be stupid enough to expect us to willingly do their work for them," Hermione confessed as she capped her ink bottle.

"Who are you calling stupid, you insufferable know-it-all! At least I learned how to speak; not like that foreign freak you two hang out with. I don't even know why two Gryffindors are hanging out with trash like him when you could be hanging out with us instead."

_Oh what a stirring recommendation that was for securing our cooperation,_ Ryuu signed with obvious sarcasm. _I suppose he wasn't cunning enough for Slytherin, he's obviously not smart enough for Ravenclaw, and he's definitely not hardworking enough for Hufflepuff… you know… I think I know why you both are Gryffindors… you're actually brave enough to put up with morons like this one._

Both Neville and Hermione burst out laughing while the other three first years just looked lost and confused. Shaking his head, Ryuu packed up his books, stood up, and headed for the door; stepping on the spilled scrolls since Ron hadn't bothered picking them up. The red head attempted to punch him but Ryuu simply ducked around him and stopped long enough to watch the other first year overbalance and crash face first into the table. Ryuu rolled his eyes and continued on his way out of the library while Hermione and Neville were both trying not to laugh over what happened.

They ended up heading outside to where an old willow tree hung out over the lake and sat enjoying the rare afternoon's sunlight while Ryuu practiced on his pan flute. They were still there a half an hour before supper when Professor McGonagall stalked up to him with a distinct air of a miffed cat with its fur bristling out in all directions.

"I expected better of the two of you when you agreed to tutor those students that were in need of help."

"I beg your pardon, Professor McGonagall, but they didn't want tutoring; they wanted Ryuu and Hermione to do their homework for them and then threatened to go to you when they refused before they insulted Ryuu," Neville declared defensively. "Weasley even tried to punch Ryuu when we were leaving."

"Ms. Granger is what he said true?"

"Yes. The three of them walked up to us as we were studying in the library and Weasley dumped a stack of about thirty scrolls on top of Ryuu's books and then demanded that he do the work and have them all finished by tomorrow. Ryuu pushed the scrolls on the floor and we started packing up our things as Weasley started saying all kinds of mean things," Hermione paused for a moment and threw an apologetic look at Ryuu before continuing. "He said that Ryuu was too stupid to learn how to talk and that Neville and I should ditch the 'foreign trash' and hang out with them instead. That's after he called me an insufferable know-it-all."

Turning back to Ryuu, she added, "I'm sorry for repeating all of that."

_It's alright. I know you weren't directing those comments at me._

"I see… and Weasley's claim that the three of you ruined his nearly completed assignments?"

Ryuu grimaced and dropped his head in shame as he dug out his whiteboard and marker and wrote; _That was an accident. Weasley didn't pick up his scrolls after I pushed them off my book and when I got up a stepped on a few of them but I hardly ruined all of them and I'm certain they could have been salvaged._

"Really? Then explain to me why he brought me eighteen rolls worth of parchment confetti?"

"We can't, because when we left those scrolls were a little flat but virtually unharmed," Hermione replied.

"I see. Thank you for being honest with me. If, when I confront them with what you just told me, they still insist that their version is the truth I will have to escalate this incident to the Headmaster. I will, of course, be informing Professor Flitwick no matter what the outcome."

Ryuu bowed respectfully to McGonagall, his way of saying he understood and accepted her word while Hermione and Neville just nodded. After she left, the three of them sat quietly for several minutes before they slowly made their way inside so they could eat supper. When they finished eating, Professor Flitwick collected them and took all three of them up to the headmaster's office where Professor McGonagall was already waiting with Weasley, Thomas, and Finnegan.

Ryuu's attention was caught for a moment by a red and gold swan-like bird sitting on a perch behind the desk but before he could even try to figure out what kind of bird it was the office door opened once more. Headmaster Dumbledore entered the room a second later and as he took his seat behind the large desk that filled a third of the office Ryuu couldn't help but note his eyes were not twinkling like they usually did.

Dumbledore allowed the trio of Gryffindor boys to state their version of the events first, since they were the accusers in this incident. As Ron Weasley gave his highly edited and entirely fabricated version, Dumbledore watched Ryuu's, Hermione's, and Neville's body language for any indication of guilt. Once the ginger haired boy was finished, he gave the other three a chance to tell their side of the story. To the older wizard's surprise, instead of one of the two Gryffindors immediately speaking up as Professor McGonagall had said they did earlier; Ryuu turned to face Professor Flitwick and made a single statement to the diminutive professor that had the wizard's eyebrows practically disappearing into his hairline.

_Flitwick-sensei, I wish to submit a memory of the incident. _

"Headmaster, Mr. Natsume wishes to submit a memory of the incident," Flitwick translated after he got over his slight surprise (as most first years aren't aware that memories can be viewed).

"That would be acceptable," Dumbledore murmured as he rose and walked over to the storage cabinet in the room. He pulled out a large, shimmering basin and set it on the desk before resuming his seat. "If you would be so kind as to draw the memory, Filius?"

Two minutes later, the entire incident was playing out above the pensieve; Professor Flitwick translating Ryuu's signed comments for the other adults. The memory ended with Ryuu watching McGonagall walk away after she'd approached the trio outside in order to get their side of the story. Needless to say, Weasley (who'd been the one insisting Ryuu and the other two had been in the wrong) looked quite ill by the time the memory finished as he'd been caught in his lie. Thomas and Finnegan weren't looking much better but they at least hadn't done anything but stand there throughout the entire incident and hadn't really said anything while Weasley fed McGonagall his pack of lies.

After that incident, Ryuu, Hermione, and Neville wouldn't be bothered again by the other boys for the rest of the school year. Ryuu never learned what the three boys earned as punishment but he really didn't care and was just satisfied knowing they wouldn't be asking him for help with their classes again. Ryuu himself lost twenty points for the silent insults he'd thrown about (McGonagall and Flitwick both having taken five and Dumbledore having taken ten); he accepted the loss without fuss because he shouldn't have sunk to Weasley's level.

When spring break rolled around, Ryuu once again went home to spend time with his parents while Hermione and Neville stayed at the castle in order to study for the upcoming end of year exams. Before he left he'd asked both of them if either one of them were interested in being sponsored to attend the summer session at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, explaining that he was required to sponsor at least one person every summer. When they both expressed interest he spoke to Kimura-sensei and wrote his father a letter asking if he could possibly sponsor both of his friends so he didn't have to choose between them.

He returned at the end of break to learn that Weasley, Finnegan, Thomas, and Malfoy had gotten into trouble over a dragon that Hagrid had supposedly been raising. Hermione also said there were more rumors of a three-headed dog being kept in the castle circulating through the houses but she hadn't spoken to anyone who actually claimed to have seen the creature. Rumors were always running rampant through the school though and few people actually paid any attention to them as their end of year exams were fast approaching.

The end of spring break also marked the return of Peeves the Poltergeist. The vengeful, chaotic spirit was still nursing a massive grudge against Ryuu for the two beatings he'd received at the hands of the eleven year old and forewent his usual borderline harmful pranks in order to plot out his revenge. Ryuu on the other hand was fully aware of the malcontent that was pouring off the poltergeist in waves and constantly kept both of familiars close whenever he walked through the halls of the castle in order to protect them from the demonic menace.

The end of year exams were brutal for all of the students of Hogwarts but most of all for the seventh, fifth, and first years. The seventh and fifth years of course had their N.E.W.T.s and O.W.L.s respectively which could make or break a wizard's future. The first years on the other hand were under a great deal of pressure because two troublesome Gryffindor third years had spread tales that if you failed even one test they'd snap your wand and kick you out of the magical world. Sadly, more than half of the first years believed the Weasley twins (who were well known pranksters) and those that didn't were far too busy revising for the tests to bother setting the record straight for their peers.

Neville was practically a blubbering mess of nerves once the tests actually started, Hermione was both frantic and fearful she had failed every single test, and Ryuu seemed to just calmly breeze through the tests. Much to the annoyance of more than half of his fellow first years as only Hermione and Neville knew exactly how hard he'd worked through the year between his magical classes, non-magical classes, and special lessons.

On the other hand, his end of year assessment tests with Hatake-sensei over his grasp of hapkido, ju jitsu, and aikido and Kimura-sensei on his silent casting were sheer torture as they demanded he push himself to his limit and beyond while maintaining perfect control over his magic. Needless to say those were the four most difficult tests Ryuu faced. Ryuu had just finished his final martial arts evaluation and was on his way back to his dorm so he could shower and change out into a clean uniform when Peeves struck.

He was currently wearing a gi with both his bokken and hanbo secured diagonally across his back. He was also carrying all four of his wands on him because Kimura-sensei had been testing his control just prior to Hatake-sensei putting him through his paces; his two Training Wands tucked in removable holsters secured to the outside of his left thigh while his cherry wand was tucked into his left sleeve and his holly wand was in his right sleeve. Tenji was perched, as usual, on his right shoulder while Shogun had temporarily claimed the handle of his bokken since both the bokken and hanbo stuck up over his left shoulder. Additionally, he had his backpack slung over his right shoulder carrying the items he used on a daily basis minus his class textbooks.

He was just stepping off the staircase onto the third floor landing and heading towards the stairs leading up to the forth floor when Peeves chose to attack. The sneaky poltergeist threw balloons filled with an adhesive potion at Tenji and Shogun, knocking both familiars from their perches and tangling them up in the glue-like substance that had been inside of the balloons. Ryuu barely managed to dodge the other dozen balloons that the youkai sent his way all the while advancing towards the poltergeist with the intent of finishing what he'd started on Halloween when the demon had attacked Tenji the last time.

Peeves, sensing he was losing ground, tossed the last half a dozen balloons he carried with him on the ground at Ryuu's feet and Ryuu automatically jumped backwards to avoid them. Unfortunately, he landed in the adhesive that had splashed across the ground when the balloons burst on impact and ended up with his feet stuck to the floor. Peeves, thinking he now had a chance to get his revenge, began throwing knives and forks at Ryuu and both familiars with deadly accuracy.

Ryuu pulled his hanbo free and used the half staff to deflect the deadly utensils and protect his familiars from injury or death. He ended up getting sliced more than once when the poltergeist flung multiple attacks at his familiars followed immediately by an attack on him. His need to protect the owl and kneazle (who were both helplessly trapped a short distance behind him) had in turn left him wide open to the sneak attacks. It also didn't help that Ryuu had been nearly exhausted from his earlier assessments with Hatake and Kimura.

Getting angrier each time one of the knives or forks managed to slice through cloth and skin, Ryuu's scar began glowing brighter and brighter as his magic began reacting to his emotions. Taking a risk, Ryuu shifted the hanbo into his left hand while he pulled his backpack around with his right. Digging through the bag with one hand he pulled out the demon sealing jar his father had given him over winter break after they'd discussed the poltergeist's attack on Tenji. After shoving the jar inside his gi, he also pulled out a piece of chalk and two of the blessed papers that Natori-san had given to him before dropping his bag and bokken onto the floor at his feet on the now hardened adhesive.

Channeling magic into his hanbo instinctively, Ryuu struck downwards at the now rock-like potion, shattering the bit that had been holding him. He then struck out at Peeves and the poltergeist smashed into the wall much as he had on Halloween night. Working quickly, Ryuu began drawing the sealing circle that was required in order to seal a demon or other youkai into a container. Any time Peeves showed any sign of either attacking again or trying to flee, Ryuu would smash him back into the wall in order to keep him dazed and confused.

Once the circle was finished, he set the demon jar in the center of the large eye that sat in the middle of the circle and pulled out the twin sheets of blessed paper. He was momentarily at a loss as to what to use as a staff to hold the first sheet of paper since his hanbo wouldn't work when he figured that his cherry wand would work as a substitute for a cherry stick. Substitute decided, Ryuu unsheathed his wand, tossed aside his hanbo, folded both slips of paper lengthwise, and jammed one of the two slips down over the tip of the wand.

He then took his place at the edge of the circle, brought his hands together to hold the second piece of paper, and began silently reciting the verse that his father had taught him. _Come forth. I seek thine hand. Seize him, o defender of darkness!_ *

As he mouthed the words both his scar and his eyes began shimmering with gold light as wisps of mist were sucked into the sealing jar before a thousand shadow hands burst forth from inside the ceramic container. Unseen by the eleven year old, thin silvery threads of magic that were connected to his cherry wood wand were interwoven with the shadowy hands.

As the hands reached out and caught hold of Peeves, the poltergeist began wailing and screaming as he was slowly dragged inside of the jar. The moment the demonic youkai was completely inside the magic that had been incorporated into the ritual formed a glowing silver cap that fused to the jar as the glow and ritual circle both faded away; effectively sealing the poltergeist for all eternity (unless Ryuu chose to unseal him).

Ryuu swayed on his feet and collapsed to his knees once the ritual was over; his body lingering on the edge of magical exhaustion due to the cost of sealing away the poltergeist after his earlier tests and the short battle. Unwilling to leave his familiars trapped any longer, Ryuu tucked his wand back into its holster and grabbed his hanbo so he could use the staff to support his weight. He had just about reached Tenji, who'd ended up stuck to the floor, when a beam of red light engulfed him and his world went black.

When Ryuu regained consciousness he found himself lying on the floor in a dark room with his hands and feet bound with coarse ropes. His head was pounding fiercely and he could feel an uncomfortable tightness in his chest, arms, and hips that he couldn't quite place. He was also more than a little dizzy due to blood loss and exhaustion; the numerous cuts he'd gotten in his short battle against the poltergeist still weeping a steady trickle of blood.

The flicker of a shadow seen out of the corner of his eye drew Ryuu's attention to a turban wearing man that was pacing back and forth in front of a gilded mirror. Ryuu thought maybe the guy looked familiar but at some point between the time when Peeves first attacked him and waking up just now he'd lost his glasses so he couldn't tell for sure. He turned his head to get a better look and felt the dried blood on the side of his face and in his hair pulling painfully at his skin.

He grimaced and stopped moving his head as he focused instead on the ropes binding his hands and feet. When he couldn't feel any give in the ropes, Ryuu closed his eyes and felt inside of him for his magic only to be jerked out of his mediation by a hand roughly grabbing him by the hair. His head was yanked back harshly before he felt a stinging blow land on his face.

"Wake up you pathetic piece of trash," the man hissed before slapping him a second time. "You're going to help me find the stone Dumbledore hid in this room before I destroy the alliance between Britain and Japan before it weakens this country any further by killing you."

Ryuu, unable to use his hands to write or sign a reply, answered the only way he could; he spit in the man's face while scowling up at the man. In response the man dropped him onto his back, knelt down beside him, wrapped his hands around Ryuu's throat, and squeezed; promising to stop the moment Ryuu agreed to help him. Unfortunately, for the man trying to strangle him, Ryuu had been taught how to break a strangle hold and the fact that his hands and feet were tied wouldn't interfere at all. Ryuu grabbed one of the man's wrists with his hands and held on tightly as he swung his legs upwards as hard as he could and kicked the man in the back of the head with his bound feet.

To Ryuu's shock, instead of the man passing out or getting disoriented from the force of the blow or even loosening his hold on Ryuu's neck; the back of the man's head began screaming in pain and the man himself began squeezing tighter. It freaked Ryuu out so bad that he began repeatedly kicking the man in the back of his head even after the man's turban flew off. Spots began forming at the edge of Ryuu's vision and his legs soon grew too heavy to move and still he tried to break free. There was something inside of Ryuu that just refused to die though and just when he was on the verge of passing out due to the lack of oxygen, his scar flared bright white and a shockwave of raw, wild magic exploded outwards.

The wizard that had been trying to kill him was blasted backward, the back of the man's head still screaming and apparently cursing, as he crashed into the gilded mirror; shattering it into a million pieces. Gasping and coughing for air, Ryuu rolled over onto his stomach; his magic having shredded the magical ropes that had bound him and brought his hands beneath his chest so he could get up. He'd barely manage to get up on his hands and knees when a yellow light hit him and he was immediately engulfed in unimaginable pain. His screams were trapped inside his own mind as he writhed helplessly on the floor while millions of burning knives tore him apart from the inside out.

"Fascinating," a new voice declared as the pain suddenly lessoned to a ghost of a memory. "Complete and utter silence; even in the face of the immense pain caused by the Cruciatus Curse. Aren't you just an interesting play toy?"

Ryuu cracked his eyes open and felt his soul freeze in sheer horror as he caught sight of the bruised and bloodied face sticking out of the back of the man's head. The thing that frightened Ryuu the most though was the face's red eyes; eyes that had haunted Ryuu's nightmares for as long as he could remember. Pushing back up onto his knees, Ryuu reached over his shoulder for his bokken only to find it was no longer strapped to his shoulder. He cursed silently when he recalled carelessly dropping it to deal with the poltergeist.

Closing his eyes he tried to fight against the lingering pain he felt from his entire body; every single nerve in his entire body was still on fire though and he felt weaker than a newborn kitten. As he dropped his chin to his chest and let his arms hang down at his side, his left hand brushed against the Training Wands that were holstered on his thigh. Eyes snapping open, he took a ragged breath and fumbled with the handle of the older wand as he tried to grasp it properly in his trembling fingers.

"What do you think you can do with that, boy? Your nerves are already so damaged you can't even hold it properly!"

As if to prove his point, the red-eyed man fired the Cruciatus Curse a second time and once again Ryuu was engulfed in indescribable pain. Unable to control himself, Ryuu flung his arms wide (sending his wand flying) and arched backwards until the top of his head was nearly touching his ankles; his mouth opened wide in a scream that no one could hear. This time when the spell stopped, Ryuu dropped limply onto his side as he began coughing up blood; his entire body still spasming with pain.

"I can't believe a weak thing like you defeated my troll," the red-eyed man mused as he walked up and kicked Ryuu in the ribs with a booted foot. "Such a disappointment; although whatever it was you did to that annoying poltergeist earlier this evening was interesting enough for me to consider keeping you around a little longer."

Something inside Ryuu stilled the moment the man had mentioned the troll and the rage that had filled him over the poltergeist's attack on Tenji back on Halloween night flooded his body with both magic and adrenalin. That troll had prevented him from finishing the poltergeist that night and as such that troll allowed the demon to attack both of his familiars earlier tonight. If this man was responsible for the troll than ultimately this man was responsible for the most recent attack on Shogun and Tenji.

He fumbled in his sleeve for his cherry wand only to find it missing. He then reached into his other sleeve and pulled out the weaker holly wand only to have it torn from his grasp by a spell the two-faced man shot at him. He was then hit with the pain inducing curse a third time and to Ryuu it felt even worse than the first two times he'd been hit with it. By the time it was over, he was in so much pain that a small part of him silently wished for death just to escape the pain. The rest of him, however, still wished for the man to pay for the part he played the earlier attack.

Rolling over onto his stomach, Ryuu pulled on the last of his strength and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees for the third time and from there up onto his feet. He staggered two steps sideways before he could catch his balance but he soon steadied himself. Once he no longer felt like he was going to fall over, Ryuu slowly turned around to face his attacker and fell into a defensive stance. This time when he saw the wand rise up as the wizard cast the yellow curse for the forth time, Ryuu twisted his abused body sideways and dodged the spell.

That seemed to shock the man for a split second before he let loose a veritable flood of spells. Ryuu dodged a good number of them all without moving more than a foot or two in any direction. The longer the one-sided fight lasted though, the harder it became for Ryuu to move as his body began failing him and the spells that hit him only made it worse as his body became littered with gashes and bruises. Eventually, the red-eyed wizard grew tired of drawing things out and time seemed to slow down suddenly as the red-eyed wizard snarled and fired one last curse as Ryuu dropped onto his knees in exhaustion.

Poisonous green light flew out of the man's wand and Ryuu could feel the shadows in the room smothering the light of the torches that hung on the walls. As he watched the spell racing towards him, Ryuu could hear a woman screaming while a madman laughed insanely in the background. Ryuu's rage filled green eyes locked on the insane and cruel red eyes of the wizard once known as Voldemort as the green light of the death curse lit up the entire chamber with an unholy light.

Ryuu's scar began to glow once again, the golden light beating in time with his heart as he unconsciously tapped into his spiritual energy while crossing his arms protectively in front of his face without breaking eye contact with the wizard that was currently trying to kill him. Ryuu's uncontrolled magic merged with his spiritual power to form a golden shield in front of Ryuu just as the light of the killing curse would have reached him. Curse met shield and the room flared with blinding white light that forced Ryuu to tear his eyes away from his opponent in order to block out the searing pain from the intensity of the light.

Two screams rang out as the air in front of Ryuu's strange shield exploded outwards and Ryuu felt himself blasted up off the floor and backwards by the force of the explosion. A heartbeat later, he both heard and felt a sickening crack as he slammed into the stone wall. The last thing Ryuu saw as his body slid down the wall was the man with two faces being blasted into ash as the shockwave of pure power the same lurid green of the killing curse swept over his unprotected body.

He was already unconscious when a black miasma with red eyes coalesced from the remains of the wizard and escaped up through the ceiling of the castle.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – idiot  
>Gi – martial arts uniform<br>Shiryou – spirit of a dead person/ghost/departed soul

**Notes: **

*Quote taken from episode 24: Assembly of Conjurers

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _For those that were wishing to see the confrontation with Quirrell to play out more along the lines of canon; I apologize but that scene has been done so many times in so many different fics that I have a hard time writing it because it puts me to sleep so I tried a little something different here. I did warn ya that this fic was an AU though.…_

**09-24-12:**_ This chapter has just been edited to remove a few minor punctuation errors, a grammatical error or two, and cleaning up of a few sentences in order to smooth out a few awkward areas._


	19. Explanations on the Road to Recovery

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:**_ _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.__

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><p><span>Chapter 18: Explanations on the Road to Recovery<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>June 1992<em>

Takashi pressed his clasped hands to his mouth as he leaned on the hospital bed watching the rise and fall of Ryuu's chest with each labored breath his son took. His knuckles turning white as he felt a canine tooth slice through his lip from the pressure but he didn't care as he focused entirely on the unconscious child that had come to mean so much to him over the years. At the foot of the bed, Nyanko-sensei slept fitfully beside a wide awake Tenji; both cat-like creatures swathed from neck to tail in bandages while Shogun, his left wing braced with a splint and wrapped up in bandages, perched on the foot board.

Against his will, Takashi's eyes flicked up to Ryuu's neck and his expression turned murderous as he once again took note of the lurid bruise that encircled his son's neck. Closing his eyes against the vivid reminder of how close his son had come to death for the second time since starting Hogwarts, Takashi fought back the wave of helpless rage that filled him. Turning his head so that he was facing the end of the bed, Takashi opened his eyes once again and studied the three animals sitting on the end of the bed.

Tenji had a dislocated both back hips and lost ninety percent of his fur when he'd fought his way free of the adhesive he'd been trapped in; he'd been wrapped up in bandages that had been spelled to retain warmth since without his fur he had no way of retaining his body heat. Shogun had broken his left wing in six places and pulled more than half of his flight feathers from both wings breaking free from the adhesive as well; it would be months before the poor bird could fly again since magic could not regrow feathers. And Nyanko… Nyanko-sensei had been injured fighting the gigantic three-headed dog that had been blocking their path in their quest to reach Ryuu.

Said hell-hound was currently sitting in the Headmaster's office sealed inside of a demon jar alongside the sealed demon jar that had been found on the third floor corridor beside Ryuu's scattered things. Takashi had sealed the demonic dog before the three heads could rip Madara to shreds when the three-headed menace had trapped the wolf spirit in the corner of that small room where they'd found the beast. Takashi had no regrets about sealing the monstrous dog and he'd refused the repeated requests by the giant of a man that doubled as the caretaker for the castle grounds to release the beast. He had no intention of allowing that damned dog to run free about the castle grounds while his son was anywhere near the school.

Forcing his eyes back up to his son's chest so he could confirm his son was still breathing, Takashi tried not to think about what he'd found once he'd dealt with demonic dog. He couldn't help but see flashes of the rooms he'd passed through on his desperate search for his son though; a room filled with ashes and scorched vines, hundreds of shorn wings and twisted keys littering the floor, huge piles of broken marble scattered across a checkered board, a dead monster that was over seventeen feet tall in a room filled with the stench of burning trash, an entire room that appeared to have burned recently with chunks of melted glass sitting on the remains of a table, and finally a dark amphitheater covered with a scattering of ash, shards of broken glass, and blood. Takashi took a shuddering breath and fought back his rage and his tears while trying to shove that final image out of his mind; he efforts were futile though as he once again saw the broken body of his son sitting so still against the wall.

Growling softly under his breath, Takashi made to get up so he could burn off some of the frustration he was feeling only to stop when he felt a weak tug on his shirt sleeve. Confused, he looked down to find a slim hand clutching the edge of his sleeve and slowly followed the hand down to the bandage wrapped arm it was attached to until he was looked up into the pain filled emerald eyes of his son. Tears immediately sprang to Takashi's eyes as he dropped back into his seat and gave his son a shaky smile as he gathered his son's hand into his.

"Hey, kiddo, I can't tell you how good it is to finally see your green eyes again," Takashi whispered emotionally as he reached up and tenderly ran his fingers through Ryuu's hair, careful not to disturb the bandages that were wrapped about his son's head. "Your mother and I have both been worried out of our minds these past couple of days."

Ryuu's eyes clouded in confusion and pain as he tried to tug his hand free so he could ask the questions that suddenly flooded his mind only to abruptly stop moving as pain glazed his eyes once more.

"Shh… relax, son. Any questions you have can wait until you're stronger. Right now I want you to concentrate on getting better, alright?"

Ryuu nodded weakly even as he slipped back into unconsciousness.

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><p>The next time Ryuu woke he wasn't certain if he felt better or worse than he had the first time. Each and every one of his nerves were still on fire and he could feel tiny tremors racing through his muscles and each spasm sent red hot knives slicing through his body. His throat felt as if it had been crushed; which as he reflected on what little he remembered was almost exactly what had happened. His head even felt as if it was going to explode any second and he was beginning to think the headache was the least of his worries as yet another spasm set his nerves to screaming. And his arms were in agony from the burns he'd received from the backlash of the explosion caused by the final spell colliding with the strange shield that had formed in front of him.<p>

Tears leaked out the side of Ryuu's eyes as he tried to take slow shallow breaths in order to minimize the pain he felt in his chest but that only made him ache worse when he began running out of oxygen. The feel of someone brushing away his tears made Ryuu automatically flinch over both the unexpectedness of the touch and the unintentional flare pain the touch generated only to immediately regret moving as his nerves cried out in sheer agony. Panting and gasping as he waited for the pain to subside, Ryuu slowly opened pain glazed eyes to find his father once again sitting at his side.

He couldn't help the flash of guilt he felt when he saw the worry and pain in his father's eyes; it made him feel as if he'd let his father down. He closed his eyes again and tried to will himself back into the pain free darkness that had cocooned him the past few days. Fate must enjoy seeing him suffer though because no sooner had he closed his eyes than he felt the bed moving beneath him until he was half sitting up. Pain… Unbearable and indescribable pain cut through his entire body and as he couldn't stop himself from writhing in agony as he silently screamed once again.

The moment seemed to last an eternity though in actuality it wasn't more than thirty or so seconds. Once it was over and Ryuu sat silently sobbing as his body burned and throbbed ceaselessly, he felt the cool edge of a goblet being pressed to his mouth and nearly gagged over the scent of the potion it contained.

"Drink as much as you can, Mr. Natsume, it will help ease your pain," Madam Pomfrey gently ordered when he didn't immediately drink the foul concoction.

The promise to an end of the pain spurred Ryuu into drinking the potion and he nearly gagged the moment of he got his first taste of burnt fish, old gym shorts, and curdled milk. He managed to take three generous swallows before he felt the overwhelming urge to vomit and closed his mouth. Madam Pomfrey tutted but didn't press the issue as he'd at least gotten a couple of good gulps in before he stopped. About ten minutes later, Ryuu felt the aching in his head, throat, and arms melt away and he would have sighed with relief if not for the fact that all of his nerves were still very much on fire.

In fact, it seemed as if the searing pain racing along his nerves only grew worse as the potion began easing his others hurts. Ryuu couldn't help himself as the pain doubled and tripled with every passing second as he curled up in a fetal position and bit down on his hand in an effort to block out the pain. It almost felt as if the red-eyed, two-faced man was once again casting that horrible curse on him.

"Pomfrey-sama!"

Ryuu cringed as his father's raised voice seemed to make his ears hurt and he would have raised his arms to cover his ears in order to protect them if he could remember how and if the mere thought of moving didn't make his body burn even more. Five minutes later, he blissfully passed out again from the pain.

When consciousness returned sometime later the pain had once more died down to a barely tolerable sear as he opened his eyes to find himself once again laying flat on the bed. He could hear voices talking quietly some where near by but he couldn't see who was there and he wasn't quite certain he recognized the voices. As if thinking about the speakers summoned them to his side, two slightly blurry faces swam into view and Ryuu blinked wearily as he recognized Hatake-sensei and Headmaster Dumbledore.

"Ah, Mr. Natsume, I do hope you are feeling better now," Dumbledore sincerely stated as he offered Ryuu a tight smile.

Ryuu shook his head slightly before stopping immediately when it made his pain spike. He twitched his hands in an attempt to sign instead but that was almost as bad as just moving his head. He was just beginning to get frustrated when he felt someone slide his whiteboard under his right hand before tucking an uncapped marker into his hand. The pain those touches generated was enough to bring tears to Ryuu's eyes even as he clutched the marker and sloppily wrote out a handful of words before he was forced to drop the marker due to the cramping and spasming in his hand and arm.

_Pain… all hurts… burns… rips… tears… too much…_

The whiteboard was wiped clear and the marker was fitted back into his hand as Dumbledore asked another two questions, "Can you tell me who did this to you and what they did to hurt you?"

Troubled, pain filled green eyes met concerned blue and Ryuu closed his eyes as he scrawled out seeming nonsense; _Two-face man, red eyes, yellow light, pain, all pain, can't think; hurts. Burns… rips… tears… pain make want die._

A muffled sob had Ryuu opening his eyes once more as his gaze was drawn beyond Dumbledore and he saw a flash of strawberry blond and instinctively knew his mother had read what he'd written and he felt burning shame cut through him at the knowledge that he'd made his mother cry. Somehow that made the physical pain even worse and Ryuu found himself having trouble breathing once again as the burning knives made another appearance. He was pulled from his living hell by the sound of Headmaster Dumbledore speaking yet again.

"Mr. Natsume… Ryuu… I know you're in a lot of pain right now but your answers aren't really helping us figure out how to help you. I know you're familiar with the mind arts; will you allow me to view your memories so I can see for myself what happened?"

Without bothering to erase the words he'd previously written, Ryuu wrote; _pls pull… no wan c… hurt nuff._

"I understand, child," Dumbledore murmured softly before turning to seemingly address the air. "Frompy?"

A small being with a small sharp nose, huge bulbous eyes, and bat-like ears popped into existence beside Dumbledore; startling Taki and Takashi, neither of whom had ever seen a house elf before. "Castle Master called Frompy?"

"Yes, Frompy, I would like you to fetch me my pensieve from my office," Dumbledore kindly requested of the strange being before he turned back to Ryuu. "Mr. Natsume, I need to you concentrate on what happened the other day when you stepped onto the third floor landing and everything after that until you passed out. Blink twice when you're ready and I will start extracting the memory."

The house elf had just reappeared with the requested rune carved bowl and placed it on the small table beside Ryuu's hospital bed when Ryuu finally opened his eyes and blinked twice as requested. He then closed his eyes once again as he felt Dumbledore's wand tap his right temple once before he felt the gentle tugging and strange sliding sensation that always occurred when he had a memory drawn. When he felt the slight snap indicating that the memory had been successfully pulled, Ryuu opened his eyes halfway just in time to see Hatake-sensei, Flitwick-sensei, McGonagall-sensei, Snape-sensei, Madam Pomfrey, and what looked like both of his parents follow Dumbledore into the pensieve.

Knowing they would be in there for a while, Ryuu closed his eyes and tried to fall back asleep only to realize the burning pain was currently too intrusive to allow him to relax. Not wanting to admit defeat and having no desire to painfully wait for the return of the adults that were viewing his memories, Ryuu slipped into a meditative trance in order to pass the time. He had no idea how long he'd been floating around inside of his mind hiding from the pain when he was drawn back to the present by the sound of several voices cursing in multiple languages. Cracking open one eye, Ryuu saw the adults had finally exited the memory got the distinct impression that the two witches present as well as his mother had been crying but he couldn't be certain because it was difficult to see them without his glasses.

"Oh child, I am so very sorry," Dumbledore intoned as he approached Ryuu's bed. "I never expected… I had thought no one would ever know it was even here; to find out now that Quirrell had willingly housed the misbegotten spirit of Voldemort… He never displayed any extreme changes in behavior or personality so I never suspected; not even that he had been the one to let in the troll on Halloween. Rest as best you can, child, Professor Snape left after we witnessed you being struck with the curse the first time to brew the antidote for the nerve damage done by the Cruciatus Curse but I'm afraid it will takes a couple of days to make."

"In the mean time, I can help ease the pain now that I know what is causing it," Madam Pomfrey kindly murmured as she turned down the sheets on the bed and began settling near painfully warm pads over Ryuu's body (only avoiding the covered burns on his arms). After a moment the soothing warmth helped calm the constant muscle spasms that Ryuu had been feeling from the moment he woke up and he breathed out a sigh of pure relief as the searing pain slowly faded to a more tolerable level. "Get some rest, Mr. Natsume; I'll make certain the pads don't cool off to insure the worst of your pain doesn't return any time soon."

Some fifty plus hours later Ryuu was given a vial containing a pale yellow potion that looked as if it was still simmering as it slowly bubbled inside of the glass tube while silvery yellow smoke poured over the side. Only the promise that the vial contained an end to the constant pain prevented Ryuu from balking when the dour Potions professor held it out to him. He drank the entire dose down in one gulp and made a face at the aftertaste of sour cabbages, moldy bread, and rancid pickles it left in his mouth and the way it seemed to leave everything in its wake numb. The moment the antidote hit his stomach he felt the numbness rapidly spread throughout his body and for the first time in days he felt every last bit of pain melt away. The complete absence of the constant burning pain brought tears of utter relief to his eyes.

"You will need to take one dose of the antidote every twelve hours for the next four weeks," Professor Snape ordered. "If you miss a single dose it will bring your pain back tenfold and you will need to start to entire regime over; which if done too many times will make the antidote completely useless and leave you with permanent nerve damage for the rest of your life. I suggest you don't miss a dose. You will also be unable to take any other pain potions for any other aches and pains you are currently suffering because they will interfere with the antidote and as you have already experienced; irritating the nerves again making the pain tenfold. Any lingering weakness you feel that is the direct result from the Cruciatus will fade after a couple of days."

Ryuu nodded and slowly signed 'thank you' with shaky hands before he closed his eyes and drifted off into the first restful sleep he'd had in days. Unfortunately, his sleep was disturbed by nightmares for the first time in about a month. Visions of poisonous green lights, menacing red eyes, insane laughter, a man with two faces, and endless pain taunted him and he woke up in a blind panic only to calm down slightly a moment later when he recognized the Hospital Ward. Closing his eyes he waited for his heartbeat to return to normal while concentrating on taking slow, deep breaths in an effort to regain control of his emotions.

He was further calmed when he felt a light weight settle on his chest before a rough tongue scraped across his nose and he opened his eyes to find Tenji gazing at him. Reaching up he gently scratched the kneazle behind the ear and under the chin eliciting a rumbling purr from the near bald cat. Shogun walked up his leg a few minutes later, the owl's left wing still encased in a splint to prevent him from trying to fly until his wing had completely healed. Ryuu felt a flash of guilt at seeing the injured owl as he reached out to gently run his fingers down the bird's breast before letting his eyes take in Tenji's newly grown fur that was nothing more than stubble. A soft whimpering caught his attention and Ryuu turned his eyes to the foot of his bed where he caught sight of a still bandaged Nyanko shifting weakly as the disguised youkai glanced in his direction.

After carefully moving his two familiars off of him, Ryuu crawled out from beneath the covers and settled down beside the fat cat and gently ran his fingers from the tip of the youkai's nose to the top of his head several times. Nyanko let out a sigh of pleasure and soon dropped off to sleep while Ryuu continued to comfort the cat while Tenji and Shogun returned to his lap seeking comfort of their own. He was still sitting there, surrounded by fur and feathers, when Madam Pomfrey brought him another dose of the Cruciatus Antidote and a pair of visitors.

"Ryuu!" Hermione cried as she bounded up intent on giving him a crushing hug only to be stopped by Neville at the last second. Hermione then blushed before extracting herself from her fellow Gryffindor before approaching Ryuu a little more sedately. "I'm glad you're okay; we've been so worried ever since Headmaster Dumbledore told us you'd been found. They wouldn't let us in to see you before today though and no one will tell us what happened. You just disappeared."

Ryuu took his dose of potion before he signed a reply to Hermione and Neville; _Sorry I worried you. Peeves attacked me and my familiars again and after I dealt with him, someone else attacked me. I don't want to talk about it though. _

"I'm just glad you're going to be alright… you are going to be alright, right?"

Ryuu shrugged his left shoulder and didn't quite meet Hermione's eyes because at this point he wasn't certain whether he'd be alright or not. In order to keep her from asking again or even asking for more details about what had happened he asked them a question of his own.

_Were either of you able to get permission to attend the summer session?_

"Gran was so pleased that I not only passed all of my classes but made it into one of the top twenty spaces that she said I could go and made arrangements with your dad already so I'll be going to Japan with you at the end of term. She even gave me an advance on my allowance so I could have spending money while I'm there," Neville whispered with wide eyes. "She's normally so strict… it was strange to hear her exclaim how proud she was of me. She didn't even care that I'm not as strong magically as my father or that I still have so much trouble casting spells."

_That's great, Neville-kun! Make certain you tell Hatake-sensei which elective you want to sign up for soon, if you haven't already, so he can pass that information on to Yamamoto-shishou. What about you Hermione-chan?_

"My parents were a little hesitant because they haven't really seen me all that much since I started Hogwarts, but they sent me a letter this morning saying they met with your parents and made arrangements. They said they have a surprise for me as well but I won't find out what it is until later. It'll be fascinating to see the differences between the Japanese school and Hogwarts though; even if I was a little disappointed that I could only take one elective this summer. I'm signed up to take Japanese so I won't have to rely on the translation spell for everything even though I really wanted to take an Introduction to Ancient Runes and Arithmancy instead."

Ryuu grinned, he was well aware of Hermione's obsession with learning everything though she wasn't so maniacal in her pursuit of knowledge any longer. Neville was snickering softly behind his hand as well while Hermione was blushing lightly.

_If you go back for a second or third summer, you can add more electives so long as your grades are satisfactory and you don't have any trouble keeping up with all of your classes. What elective are you thinking of taking, Neville-kun?_

"Hermione convinced me to take Japanese with her so we could practice together. Gran was originally hoping I'd take music or sports but she seemed secretly pleased that I chose a language instead. What about you, Ryuu, which elective are you taking?"

_I took music first and last year added Latin and Ancient Runes. I'll pretty much have the same classes this summer. _

"What is Ancient Runes like?" Hermione asked as she sat on the bed beside Ryuu and teased Tenji's tale (the kneazle having grown to tolerate hers and Neville's touch through their close association with Ryuu).

_A lot of memorization and drawing practice last year; we covered the history, translations, symbolism, and common uses of the many different types though we mainly focused on the Futhark, Elder Futhark, Egyptian Hieroglyphics, and Sanskrit. We were told we'd be learning how to carve and power the runes this summer._

"I hate to break up your happy reunion," Madam Pomfrey interrupted before Hermione could ask another question. "But your time is up and Mr. Natsume needs his rest."

"Oh… alright, Madam Pomfrey. We'll come back soon, Ryuu," Hermione replied sadly as she leaned over and carefully hugged Ryuu before she slipped off the bed and headed to the exit where she waited while Neville said goodbye.

Neville on the other hand gave Ryuu a searching glance before he looked around to make certain they were alone before he stated, rather than asked, "Someone used the Cruciatus Curse on you." Ryuu flinched and looked away but not before Neville saw the pain in his eyes. "I recognized the potion Madam Pomfrey gave to you. I… I'm glad you didn't… didn't end up like…"

Whatever else Neville had been going to say was cut off when Madam Pomfrey returned and shooed him from the ward. Ryuu had the impression that whatever he was going to add was in some way painful and it made Ryuu wonder if someone had once tortured Neville with the painful curse. He hoped not. He wouldn't wish that kind of pain on anyone.

Ryuu was released just a few hours before the start of the End of Term Feast and he was escorted up to Ravenclaw Tower by Penelope Clearwater, one of the fifth year Ravenclaw prefects. He happily took a long, hot shower after dropping his two familiars off on his bed, Nyanko having gone home with his father the day before. He then started packing up his things so he wouldn't have to rush about in the morning and because he wasn't certain he'd be up to packing after the feast since he was already feeling exhausted just from walking to the tower from the infirmary.

All through the feast, Ryuu picked at his food, feeling extremely uncomfortable as the other students blatantly stared at him; or rather at the lurid black and purple bruise that still circled his neck. He'd stared at it as well when he'd gotten out of the shower and finally gotten a good look at it. He shuddered a bit and shoved his plate away as one hand reached up to dance lightly across the painful bruise as he vividly recalled the feeling of the two-faced man's hands crushing his throat. He dropped his hand a second later and buried his face in Tenji's regrowing fur for comfort while Shogun hooted softly from his perch on the edge of the table.

In a surreal repetition of the Start of Term Feast the previous September, Ryuu ignored everyone around him for the rest of the feast and never noticed when the rest of the students left the hall. If he had been paying attention he might have noticed Hatake-sensei waylaying Hermione and Neville who had both been on their way over to where he was sitting alone at the end of his table. As it was, he noticed nothing as he was wrapped up in the memories he'd been trying to suppress since the day he'd first regained consciousness.

"Natsume-kun?" Hatake-sensei asked softly as he sat down beside Ryuu. Ryuu had frozen the moment he heard the wizard speak but relaxed when he recognized the voice and turned his face to the side so he could see his sensei to indicate he had heard him. "Dumbledore-shishou wishes to speak with you about the attack and what happened with the poltergeist before you return to your dorm room if you are feeling up to it. I know you'd probably rather not speak about what happened but it will help you in the long run if you get it out of your system now instead of letting it fester for weeks or months."

Ryuu closed his eyes and pressed his face back into Tenji's fur, not caring that he was smudging his glasses or that the frame was digging into the bridge of his nose. He knew his sensei was correct but that didn't mean he actually wanted to revisit that night; he did that enough in his nightmares and any time he was reminded of his injures. And yet… there was some small part of him that wanted to know why he had been attacked that night; to know who the two-faced man was and what had happened to him after the explosion.

He knew what had motivated the youkai that had attacked him and could care less about the fate of the poltergeist. Letting his shoulders sag, Ryuu slowly sat up and climbed to his feet without looking at Hatake-sensei as he reluctantly nodded to indicate that he'd speak with the Headmaster. He reached out to help Shogun up onto his shoulder only for his sensei to guide the bird onto his own wrist so that Ryuu wouldn't have to carry both familiars as Tenji was still in Ryuu's arms.

Hatake-sensei then led Ryuu through the castle up to the gargoyle that guarded the staircase leading up to the Headmaster's office. The older wizard said the password and the gargoyle stepped aside to reveal the rotating stairs and Ryuu hesitantly stepped onto them and allowed them to carry him up to the top, secretly thankful that he didn't need to climb the stairs himself. All too soon he was at the top though and Hatake-sensei ushered him into the office where Dumbledore was waiting for him behind his vast desk.

Ryuu crossed half the length of the office before his eyes took in the items that were sitting on the desk and he immediately froze when he saw the filthy, bloodstained purple turban. There were also two sealed demon jars, a crystal vial containing what looked like red sand, and five wands; three of which he recognized as his own. It was the turban that held his attention though; his mind immediately bringing forth the memory of the man beneath the turban choking the life out of him. The sound of the second face screaming echoed in his ears at the same time and he felt his vision darkening as he struggled to breath, feeling as if he was being strangled once again.

A hand falling on his shoulder snapped him out of the waking nightmare and instead of flinching away or attacking the owner of said hand out of fear he turned around and buried his face into the person's stomach. His entire body shaking like a leaf in a violent storm as he sucked in breath after breath. It was the first time Ryuu had sought comfort from anyone other than his father and it shocked both of the other occupants in the room but none more than Hatake Kakashi to whom Ryuu was currently clinging to for dear life.

In the two and a half years that Hatake had known Ryuu, the boy had never once sought physical contact with anyone outside of his familiars and his family. Even during this past year the eleven year old had gone out of his way to avoid being touched needlessly by students and staff alike and Hatake had actually expected him to close himself off even further after seeing first hand what the young wizard had suffered through at the hands of a staff member. With his free hand, Hatake pulled the child closer as he glanced over to meet Dumbledore's troubled blue eyes over top of the trembling child's head.

When Ryuu finally calmed down enough to look up and see who he'd been clinging to he flushed red with embarrassment and signed a quick apology to his sensei. He was further embarrassed when the wizard waved off the apology and assured him he hadn't minded in the least. Turning back around, albeit a bit reluctantly, he studiously avoided look at any of the items on the desk least he trigger another panic attack; letting his eyes drift over to where the bird was sitting silently on its perch watching him with black eyes.

"I feel I must apologize again, Mr. Natsume, for everything you suffered at the hands of Quirenus Quirrell, who at the time he attacked you was a professor at this school," Dumbledore stated heavily. "I also apologize for the necessity of discussing that same incident with you tonight. I trust you are at least no longer feeling any lingering pain due to the Cruciatus Curse?"

Ryuu nodded twice in confirmation.

"I am glad to hear that. Why don't you both go ahead and take a seat; I only have a few questions I'd like to ask you and while I doubt it will take you long to answer them I'm certain you'd much prefer not to stay standing the entire time. I will also try to answer any questions you have to the best of my ability."

Inching forward, eyes still avoiding looking at the desk, Ryuu slipped into one of the cushy armchairs that sprang into being with a wave of Dumbledore's arms. When his sensei settled Shogun onto the arm of Ryuu's chair before sitting down in the second chair, Ryuu reached out and ran a finger over the owl's chest while Tenji curled up on his lap and appeared to drift off to sleep. A minute later, Professor Flitwick entered the office and sat down in the last chair after offer Ryuu a reassuring smile.

"I hope you don't mind that I asked Professor Flitwick to be here as your Head of House and Professor Hatake as one of the two wizards currently on staff who've known you the longest. I thought they might be able to offer you a measure of moral support and stand in as translators in the event you did not wish to be required to write out your replies and questions. Is that acceptable? Thank you. Now, I've already viewed your memory from the night a couple of times since you first allowed me to copy it and as I mentioned earlier I have a couple of questions. To start with, what exactly is it you did to Peeves?"

Ryuu lifted his head to look up at Dumbledore in confusion; the poltergeist was the last thing Ryuu had thought the Headmaster would wish to question him about. Unwillingly, his eyes were drawn to the two demon jars on the desk and couldn't help the tremor that went through him when his eyes skimmed over the turban. Jerking his eyes away, Ryuu turned side ways so he could see Hatake-sensei and shakily answered the question while his sensei translated his answers at the same time.

_I sealed him inside the demon jar to prevent him from harming Tenji and Shogun further. I… I would have rather destroyed him but Flitwick-sensei told me, after the attack on Halloween, that he was part of the castle and as such shouldn't be destroyed. I promised not seek revenge for what he did to Tenji so long as he did not attack us again and tousan made the sealing jar for me just in case._

"I see… is he still alive and do you think you could release him?"

_Yes, he is alive. And I could set him free but I will not. _

"May I ask why?"

_The demon has attacked me and my familiars three times since I started here. I refuse to give him a forth chance to do me or them harm. I realize he is considered a part of Hogwarts but I am not willing to risk my familiars' lives on the hopes that he'll leave us alone from now on. He will suffer no harm inside the demon jar._

"Is there nothing I can say to get you to change your mind about releasing him?"

_Why would you wish to give the demon a chance to torment the students?_ Ryuu asked instead, his brow furrowed in confusion as he'd thought the Headmaster would be as pleased to no longer have to deal with the troublesome poltergeist.

"His presence is meant to ease the tension and stress students feel by bringing laughter to the castle; though I will be the first to admit that his pranks have taken a darker turn over the past two or three decades. We can revisit the discussion to free him from his prison another time as it is getting late and there are other things I wish to discuss with you. Such as if it possible to unseal the pet that your father trapped when he turned up unexpectedly and tore through the castle looking for you. Our gamekeeper is most anxious to make certain his pet is unharmed."

_I can not release what my father has sealed; not only have I promised not to do so without his permission but I am not strong enough to break my father's seals as he is far more powerful than I am. _

"I was afraid you would say something along those lines but I promised Hagrid I would at least ask. Moving on… When Quirrell was strangling you, just after you stopped kicking him in the back of his head, there was a bright white light followed by a shockwave of magic. Was that something you did consciously? If not, do you remember what you were thinking at the time?"

Ryuu closed his eyes and curled around Tenji as that question brought to mind the very memories Ryuu had been trying not to think about since he stepped into the office; the crushing weight, seemingly both physical and mental, pressing down on him as he struggled just to breathe. After a seeming eternity, the feel of fingers gently carding through his hair and a hand rubbing his back pulled him out of the inner torment and he looked up to find Hatake-sensei watching him with concern. Swallowing thickly, Ryuu slowly uncurled enough to glance behind him to see a similar expression on Professor Flitwick's face as the short wizard continued rubbing gentle circles on his back. A second later a warm mug was being pressed into his hands by a concerned Dumbledore.

"Drink up, child, it's just a bit of hot chocolate to help chase away the cold," Dumbledore coaxed gently.

A tentative sniff of the steam rising from the mug confirmed that the Headmaster had been telling the truth and Ryuu sipped at the chocolate. He was somewhat surprised as even that small sip seemed to fill him with warmth and he didn't think twice about taking another sip. Once he finished the chocolate he felt quite a bit better and he eyed the mug with a small frown as he wondered if the chocolate had been laced with a calming drought.

"There were no potions mixed in with the chocolate, if that is what you are wondering," Dumbledore stated as if he'd read Ryuu's mind, a small smile playing about the old wizard's lips. "Chocolate contains a healing magic all its own. Do you think you might feel up to answering my question now?"

Ryuu settled the mug in his lap and watched Tenji lick the traces of chocolate clinging to the edges of the mug and smiled briefly when the kneazle attempted to shove his entire head in the cup in order to reach the bit that pooled in the bottom. After a moment he answered the question without lifting his eyes away from his familiar.

_Everything was turning black and I was so scared I was dying. My entire chest was burning and my arms and legs were growing too heavy to move. I just wished for the pain to stop… for the man to leave me alone. The next thing I knew I could breathe again and the ropes on my hands and feet were gone. I remember feeling something inside of me stirring just before it happened but I don't know what it was or what it did._

"Accidental magic fueled by desperation then," Dumbledore mused as he stroked his beard with one hand. "I know you tried to fight back and defend yourself once you were free but it seemed like you were ready to give up after he hit you with the second Cruciatus Curse. That is, I thought you were giving up right up until Voldemort mentioned watching you seal away the poltergeist. What was it he said that made you so angry?"

_It was his fault Tenji and Shogun were attacked by Peeves that night._

"I don't quite follow, what did he have to do with the poltergeist's attack?"

_The troll. It was his fault the troll stopped me from finishing off Peeves. It was his fault the poltergeist was able to attack my familiars again. I wanted to make him pay for their suffering._

"Revenge is never the answer, child," Dumbledore tiredly stated as the twinkle in his eyes dimmed even further.

_Neither is allowing those who harm others to walk free. Justice denied only tells the victims that they are worthless in the eyes of the law. _

"I only have two more questions for you and then you may ask your questions, if you have any," Dumbledore said in an effort to avoid entering a philosophical debate about justice, second chances, and mercy. "When Voldemort fired the killing curse at you at the end of the fight, why didn't you just dodge the spell instead of just sitting there? And what exactly is it you did to block the curse?"

Ryuu looked up at Dumbledore and pinned him in place with haunted green eyes as his hands sluggishly signed his reply, _For as long as I can remember I have had nightmares; terrible visions filled with death and pain. I remember all of my dreams but the one that torments me the most is the one that is filled with poisonous green lights, frightening red-eyes, maniacal laughter, and a dead woman with long hair the color of freshly spilled blood. I saw those same red eyes on the two-faced man that night and heard the dead woman's screams as the curse rushed towards me. _

_I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, and couldn't move as I stared into those demonic red eyes as the curse cut through the air towards me. I recognized him in that moment and I felt nothing but fury as whatever it was that had trapped me in place broke. At that moment I lived through my nightmare once again… only it's not just a nightmare at all… It's the memory of the night my parents died. That nightmare is the only memory I have of my first mother. _

"And the glowing gold shield?"

_It felt safe and warm… like my cupboard used to feel before tousan saved me. I felt something similar each time I faced the poltergeist this year. _

"Do you think you could recreate the shield? Not right now, Madam Pomfrey would skin me alive if I had you performing high level magic before you are fully recovered but do you think it would be possible to make the shield again so that it could be tested and studied?"

Ryuu closed his eyes and thought about the shield that had protected him that night. After a couple of minutes he slowly shook his head no before elaborating, _No. It is not magic. It is the same kind of power that otousan and the youkai radiate. Otousan once told me that that power came from the soul and was the reason why I could see the youkai and why they are drawn to me. Otousan has been trying to teach me how to use that power, that was how I sealed the poltergeist, but it is far harder to control than my magic. The only time I can really use that power is when the spirits attack me or when I'm frightened and even then it mostly acts on its own._

"I had hoped… to have found magic capable of blocking the Unforgivables would have been… Well no matter, if it can't be done it can't be done. Now, child, do you have any questions you'd like to ask me.

There were hundreds of questions Ryuu had that he wished to ask the Headmaster; not all of them pertaining to the night he was attacked though. Taking a deep breath, Ryuu looked up once more and met the Headmaster's blue eyes with determined green eyes and asked what he felt was the most important two questions, _What happened to the two-faced man and was he really the man that murdered my parents?_

"The man that attacked you was Professor Quirrell, the Muggle Studies professor here at Hogwarts. I am afraid he did not survive the backlash of magic from the explosion that occurred when the killing curse struck your shield. Quirrell was not the man that murdered your parents. The second face, the one you discovered beneath the turban Quirrell has worn for the last five years, was the manifestation of Voldemort's spirit; Voldemort was apparently possessing Quirrell since at least Halloween. It was Voldemort that murdered your parents on Halloween of nineteen-eighty."

_How? How can he still be alive when all of the books said he was killed that night? Did he die in the explosion like Quirrell? Could he have escaped somehow? If he did, will he attack me again?_

"Many people believed he had died when you defeated him that Halloween night. I tried to tell them that there was a chance he had survived but the people did not wish to believe that the man who terrorized them for over twenty years could possibly return. He is nothing more than a spirit; a very dangerous spirit none-the-less. There were no witnesses, aside from you and Voldemort, present the night he killed your parents so it is hard to say exactly what happened to Voldemort that night and how he managed to survive. I suspect he would have escaped the same way after he failed to kill you for the second time."

_So he will come after me again. _

"I am afraid it is a possibility," Dumbledore reluctantly admitted; he would have preferred to not burden Ryuu with that knowledge but he'd promised Takashi several years earlier he would not withhold information from the boy once he'd returned to Magical Britain. "Were there any other questions you had?"

_Hundreds,_ Ryuu answered a bit flippantly as he shoved the knowledge that there was yet another spirit out there actively seeking his death to the back of his mind. After all, he was already hunted by thousands of youkai, what was one more? _What stone was the two-faced man trying to find? Why did he think that I would be able to help him find it? Where was it that he'd taken me and how did you find me? If Voldemort escaped, could he still be in the castle? Could he have possessed someone else? Will me being here place the other students in danger if he comes after me again? How…?_

"Slow down a bit, Natsume-kun; Give Dumbledore-shishou a chance to answer the questions you have already asked," Hatake-sensei chided as he held up his hand to cut Ryuu off, making the eleven year old duck his head in embarrassment.

"If Voldemort's spirit escaped, I am fairly confident that he would have fled the castle out of fear of having to face me in such a weakened state. He would have been far too weak at that point to posses another person, especially an unwilling host. The largest creature he could have possessed after being forcefully expelled from Quirrell would have been a rat or a garden snake and he wouldn't be able to harm anyone in such a body. As for other people being in danger; the answer is so long as Voldemort lives everyone is already in danger. You are far from his only target even if he holds a personal grudge against you for defeating him twice now. So please do not think that hiding yourself away will protect your peers or your friends."

Ryuu had the grace to blush at that last admonishment because he'd been considering just that. Dumbledore chuckled a bit sadly when he noticed the flush creeping up Ryuu's neck before he answered the rest of Ryuu's questions.

"You never left the castle that night; Quirrell had taken you down into the out of bounds third floor corridor and your father was the one who found you; he followed that adorably pudgy cat that follows him everywhere. According to your father the cat is very fond of you and somehow sensed you were in danger."

"The familiar bond," Flitwick interjected. "That other cat is the third bond that showed up when you allowed me to test the bonds that first night in the castle; that would certainly explain how the cat knew you were in trouble."

Dumbledore then went on to explain that he'd been holding onto a priceless artifact for a friend, which he revealed to be the Philosopher's Stone, who'd been concerned that someone was after the stone after his house was broken into and certain information stolen from his files. Dumbledore hadn't expected anyone to discover the stone was in the castle because he'd kept knowledge of it restricted to a small handful of individuals he trusted explicitly. He'd even used the reconstruction of the third floor corridor as a front for the actual location of the stone since it was well known that the castle was being renovated one section at a time.

When Ryuu asked what had happened to the stone, Dumbledore revealed that it had been destroyed when Quirrell crashed into the mirror; the remains the red sand in the crystal vial on his desk. Ryuu had grown pensive over that revelation and timidly asked if the owners would be angry over the loss of the stone. The old wizard had smiled and replied, no, they were not upset over the loss of the stone. Apparently they'd given Dumbledore permission to destroy the stone if at any time it was in danger; which he would have done sooner if he'd known Quirrell had been trying to find it. He teasingly thanked Ryuu for saving him a bit of work.

Ryuu still had many more questions but he was having difficulty putting them into words so he didn't bother trying. Headmaster Dumbledore thanked him for his cooperation and handed him a thick bar of chocolate with instructions to eat a bit of it before going to bed and again if he woke up in the middle of the night due to nightmares. He also returned Ryuu's wands, explaining that they'd been found on the floor of the chamber just before dismissing him for the evening.

Hatake-sensei ended up carrying Ryuu on his back when it turned out the emotional evening spent discussing the attack sapped what little strength he'd recovered; with Shogun and Tenji hitching a ride with Professor Flitwick. While Ryuu changed into his pajamas, Hatake-sensei helped him finish his packing with a few deft waves of his wand. Ryuu thanked him and climbed into bed, drinking his nightly dose of antidote and clearing the sour taste from his mouth with a bite of chocolate (that he shared with both familiars) before dropping his head onto his pillow and drifting off to sleep.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Another chapter up and posted... I think I've shocked myself because I didn't think I would get this up today after the morning I've had but I think posting this was just the break I needed. Unfortunately, it's time for me to get back to reality and go wash another load of dishes and water another dozen legless stomachs with teeth. _

_I'll post at least one more chapter this week (it's already uploaded, I just have to format it) and then I make no promises as to when the next update will be posted though I will make an effort not to disappear for another several months. I've got a hundred other projects waiting for my attention though and not all of them are FanFiction and that's not even counting what reality requires of me. ~ Jenn__  
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_**WARNING:** Chocolate is toxic to most (if not all) animals and should not be fed to any pet. The sharing of chocolate between Ryuu and his familiars in this chapter is strictly a fictional situation that I created for the purposes of this story and is not a reflection of my personal practices in regards to my pets (my snakes don't like chocolate; they prefer something a little fuzzier).  
><em>

_In this story; kneazles are a magical creature with magical abilities and characteristics that set them apart from their more common counter part (the cat). As such, chocolate will not harm any of the magical familiars that appear in this story. Additionally, all chocolate that is being offered to the familiars in this story are magically created chocolates and as such any potentially poisonous toxins have been filtered out magically in order to prevent any problems that are normally associated with the feeding of chocolate to a real animal.  
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**07-28-12: **_Chapter edited to add warning and explanation regarding the feeding of chocolate to Ryuu's familiars.  
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	20. Reflections of the Soul

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 19: Reflections of the Soul<span>

_Hogwarts Express, Takashima Town,  
>Shiga, Japan &amp; Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu<br>June 1992 ~ September 1992_

Ryuu stepped out of the flimsy boat he, Hermione, and Neville had shared over the not quite short journey across the Black Lake. His two friends joined him a moment later and together the three of them made their way to the train where they dug their trunks out of the large pile of luggage that had been independently transported to the train station by magical means. Eventually, the three of them found an empty compartment towards the end of the train that they could share and settled their trunks in the overhead luggage racks before sitting down. Ryuu listened to his newest friends chatting about their fast approaching trip to Japan while he gently ran his fingers over Shogun's recently unwrapped left wing where the new flight feathers were just starting to regrow.

Ten minutes after the train started moving the trio was a bit surprised when the compartment opened and Hatake and Kimura entered. Ryuu flushed as his eyes met Hatake-sensei's briefly, the memory of his clinging behavior and being carried back up to his dorm the night before flooding him with mortification. The blood drained from his face a heartbeat later as the rest of his memories from the discussion with the Headmaster followed. Before he could sink into a complete panic, Hatake-sensei dropped down onto the bench beside him and placed a comforting hand on his head. Ryuu looked up at his sensei, his eyes filled with warring emotions.

"_If you have any more of the chocolate Dumbledore-shishou gave you last night you should eat a bit, Natsume-kun. It will help,_" Hatake suggested in Japanese.

Ryuu bit his lip and nodded mechanically as he dug into his backpack for the half-eaten bar of chocolate. He'd woken up several times the night before due to the nightmares and each time he'd taken a small bite of the candy bar as recommended by the Headmaster. He'd been very surprised that it had helped as much as it had and only wished that the effect lasted longer than it did. Breaking off a small chunk, he placed it in his mouth and chewed as he allowed Tenji to lick the crumbs from his fingers while he passed Shogun a small sliver that had fallen off the piece he'd eaten. He'd started wrapping it back up when Hatake stopped him and suggested he eat a little more. Once he'd eaten about a quarter of what had been left of the chocolate, Hatake allowed him to put it away without coaxing him to take another bite.

"_Are you feeling better now?_" Hatake asked. He waited for Ryuu to nod tentatively in reply before he spoke again; once more using Japanese so they could keep their conversation semi-private while Kimura-sensei distracted his two friends. "_Have you spoken to anyone about what you've been feeling and thinking since what happened that night or even just about the nightmares you've been having since then? And no, last night doesn't count since you really didn't talk about how you are feeling._"

Ryuu shook his head and dropped his eyes to his hands that were tucked into his lap.

"_Is it because you don't know who to talk to about it or are you just not ready to talk about it?_"

_A little of both,_ Ryuu signed a moment later.

"_I suspected as much. I had also hoped that Dumbledore-shishou or Flitwick-senpai would have at least tried to draw you into such a discussion last night or even while you were still in the Hospital Ward. Why did you not at least speak to your father about what happened before he left the castle?_"

_I did not want to him to worry or worse make him hurt because he would have blamed himself for what happened. It was bad enough I made okaasan cry._

"_Can I let you in on a little secret? Adults worry far more when you don't tell them what is bothering you because they think they have failed you. I know your father cares for you very much and he would much prefer you share your burdens with him than have you try and protect him from the things that are hurting you. And even if you aren't ready to speak with your parents about what happened, you do know that Kimura-senpai and I are both willing to listen, ne?_"

Ryuu glanced back up at his sensei in shock; he hadn't actually thought either wizard would want to be bothered by what he considered his trivial insecurities and nightmares. He then realized that he should have known they'd be willing to listen as they were the ones that had helped him the most aside from the Mind Healer he'd seen during his first summer session. It didn't take more than a few seconds after that to realize that Hatake-sensei had in actuality been telling him that he was there in their compartment in order to give Ryuu a chance to talk about that night. A quick glance across the compartment showed Hermione and Neville both entirely focused on their conversation with Kimura-sensei which meant there was little chance either of them would pay attention to his conversation.

His hands were shaking as he signed; _I wouldn't know where to start._

"_What about that night bothers you the most?_"

That single question opened the flood gates as Ryuu spoke of how much he felt like he'd failed his familiars when Peeves had attacked them. How he could still feel Quirrell's hands on his neck at times, squeezing the life out of him. He spoke of how weak he felt because he hadn't been able to fight back; despite the fact that he'd been suffering from extreme exhaustion, blood loss, and the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse at the time. He even brought up the mixed feelings he had about killing the troll on Halloween night and how he thought something was wrong with him because he felt guiltier about killing the troll than he did about killing Quirrell.

It took him close to two hours to pour out his feelings, frustrations, and fears and in that time he'd been through an emotional roller coaster that left him wrung out. Hatake-sensei had listened the entire time, never interrupting him, never judging him, and never once letting his attention waver as Ryuu poured out his heart. When Ryuu finished he simply urged Ryuu to finish the last of the chocolate before encouraging him to take a short nap; which is how Ryuu ended up with his head pillowed on Hatake-sensei's lap for the rest of the train ride, fast asleep.

When they reached King's Cross Station, Hatake gathered the still sleeping Ryuu in his arms while Kimura collected Ryuu's familiars, trunk, and backpack. Hermione and Neville followed the two adults, both children slightly subdued with worry over their friend. They were met on the platform by Ryuu's parents, Neville's grandmother, and Hermione's parents; the Grangers and Madam Longbottom more than a little shocked by Ryuu's condition (his bruised neck standing out starkly against his pale skin). Ryuu was then passed to Takashi before the entire group headed out onto the Muggle side of the station. To both Neville's and Hermione's surprise they didn't split up and go their separate ways once they left the station, all ten of them piling into a pair of taxies that carried them directly to Heathrow Airport.

Once at the airport, Nyanko, Tenji, and Shogun were tucked into Ryuu's magically expanded trunk and made comfortable with food, water, and beds (or a perch in Shogun's case); all three animals tolerating their new accommodations as that was how they'd flown over in the first place. Hermione's surprise turned out to be the news that her parents would be joining her on her trip to Japan and the fact that they'd already packed for the trip; the elder Grangers having been invited to join their daughter by Taki when they expressed their reservations about spending another couple of months away from their daughter. Madam Longbottom had also packed her grandson's things for the summer including a transport cage for Trevor so the toad could be packed into Neville's suitcase safely.

In no time at all the seven of those that were flying to Japan had checked in their luggage, said their goodbyes to the three that were not traveling with them, and passed through security on the way to their gate. Ryuu woke up shortly after they passed through security feeling extremely disoriented. He was a bit shocked to find he was no longer on the Hogwarts Express and his father carrying him through what he soon recognized as the airport. Instead of immediately trying to convince his father to set him down like he normally would, Ryuu simply snuggled closer to Takashi, feeling safer than he had since the attack. He also felt a bit sad that he hadn't had a chance to say thank you to Hatake-sensei but knew he'd have another chance once the summer session started.

Fifteen minutes later, the group boarded their plane with the other first class passengers. Their seats were spread out across a single row, with two on either side of the plane and three in the middle row. Taki and Emily Granger sat in the two left most seats while Takashi and Jake Granger sat in the right and the three kids sat in the middle section. Hermione sat on the left so she could talk to her mother across the aisle while Neville sat on the right with Ryuu seated in between them. Ryuu would have preferred to sit with his parents but he said nothing since he didn't want to appear rude in front of Hermione's parents whom he'd met just before boarding the plane.

They would end up trading seats a couple of times during the flight anyway as the adults got to know the children and each other. During the last two hours of the flight, Ryuu sat in the window seat next to his father while Hermione sat in the middle section between her parents, and Neville sat in the aisle seat beside Taki (Neville refusing to sit beside the window because he was afraid of heights). Ryuu spent that time hesitantly talking with his father about everything he'd told Hatake-sensei during the train ride from Hogwarts. Like his instructor, his father listened to him pour out his fears and concerns about what he'd gone through at school that year. Unlike Hatake, his father asked questions, offered insightful comments, and encouraged him to look deeper inside of him for the reasons why he was feeling the way he did.

Ryuu actually didn't mind his father falling into his counselor role; it was something his father had always done and a small part of the reason he'd been afraid to speak to his father earlier. He'd been afraid of what he'd find when his father had him dig underneath the obvious reasons for his current feelings. Now, though, he just felt relief knowing his father wasn't blaming him for what had happened and didn't judge him for what he saw as his own failures. When they stepped off the plane at the end of their flight, Ryuu was feeling much better than he had when he'd first woken up the day before. And while it would still take him time to move past what had happened during the attack; he had at least begun the healing process.

While they were getting their luggage, Takashi broke away from the group to call ahead to the Fujiwaras to warn them about what had happened to Ryuu at the end of the school year. He hadn't wanted to put something like that in writing but at the same time didn't want to just spring it on them without any warning by letting them find out when they first saw Ryuu. His foster parents were unsurprisingly horrified that Ryuu had been attacked by a teacher but glad that Ryuu was slowly recovering from the ordeal instead of retreating back into his shell like he would have done a couple of years earlier. Touko-san, who was the real worrywart in the family, cried a bit before she became determined to cheer her grandson up by making his absolute favorites for supper that night; not that she hadn't already planned to do that anyway.

Before Takashi hung up, Shigeru asked him if he thought the welcome home party they'd planned to throw that evening should be canceled in light of the revelation about the attack. Takashi hesitated a moment before he told Shigeru to go ahead as planned since he knew Ryuu would be happy to see everyone and they would be able to help keep Ryuu from dwelling on what happened. Takashi also asked that Shigeru allow him to explain what had happened to the adults; not wanting to place that burden on the Fujiwaras since they didn't have all of the answers to the questions the others were certain to ask.

During the short taxi ride across town to the rail station Neville and Hermione were eagerly taking in the sites and sounds of Tokyo; Neville especially as this was his first time visiting another country. On the train ride from Tokyo to Shiga, Ryuu took the time to point out various points of interest to his friends as they sped through the countryside. Once they arrived in Takashima Town, they ran into Natori Shuichi who'd just arrived in town on vacation after his latest movie shoot. All three Grangers had stars in their eyes as they recognized the actor, with Hermione blushing bright red when Natori poured on the charm and kissed her hand in greeting.

The moment Natori's eyes fell on Ryuu though he'd stiffened slightly as he took in the bruise that had yet to fade and the bandages that covered the still healing burn scars on his arms. Ryuu shifted nervously beneath the scrutiny and eventually moved behind his father so that Natori could no longer see him. He practically jumped out of his skin when Hiiragi appeared in front of him a moment later and crouched down so as to not appear quite so threatening.

"_My master wishes to know who harmed you_," the youkai declared softly. "_Was it a youkai?_" Ryuu discreetly shook his head no. "_It was a human?_" Hiiragi asked in shock as she reared back a bit over that revelation.

Ryuu didn't reply this time, he just stared at the youkai as he unintentionally allowed her to see a brief glimpse of the pain he'd been doing his best to hide from everyone. After a moment, the spirit nodded and returned to Natori's side, leaving Ryuu a bit of privacy to get his emotions back under control. Shortly after that all eight of them headed towards the Natsume Residence, Natori tagging along because he'd been invited to the homecoming party that the Fujiwaras were throwing for Takashi, Taki, and Ryuu. Somewhere along the way, while Ryuu was pointing out some of his favorite restaurants and key points of interest around the town for his friends, Kaname joined the group.

When they arrived home they were met outside the gate by Touko and Shigeru and introductions were quickly made. The older couple was bravely doing their best not to stare openly at Ryuu's neck; something Ryuu was greatly thankful for the moment Kaname finally noticed the bruises. Takashi had grabbed his long time friend in a headlock to prevent him from opening his mouth and asking what had happened, a forced smile on his face as he pretended they were simply rough housing. Shigeru, knowing what Takashi was trying to do, asked Ryuu to show his friends to their rooms and give them a tour of the house; a move which would allow the adults to discuss what had happened to Ryuu without driving the eleven year old into depression over the reminder.

The rest of the guests arrived a couple of hours later, giving the travelers more than enough time to shower and change into clean clothes. The three children disappeared out back with Ryuu's two familiars where they explored the back garden while Ryuu mimicked bird calls on his ocarina to see if the local song birds still remembered him. Hermione nearly chased them off again when she squealed in delight as hundreds of birds flocked around Ryuu as he played. Both young Gryffindors were then thrilled as the birds bravely approached them for food when Touko brought out some bird seed for them to offer the birds.

When Satoshi arrived with his parents, one of but a handful of children that had been invited, he joined them out back and Ryuu introduced Hermione and Neville nervously. He was more then a little afraid that Satoshi would be angry that he'd made new friends but he soon found his fears had been baseless as his three friends immediately struck up a conversation comparing the various instructors at their respective schools; Satoshi very interested in hearing more about Professor Flitwick. Ryuu occasionally added in a comment or two or asked Satoshi a question about the school year but otherwise he was content to silently follow the conversation while he softly ran through a few different pieces on his flute.

The rest of the children, from both the academy and the local dojo, joined them a short while later and Hermione and Neville soon found themselves the center of attention as the other children were interested in learning everything they could about Ryuu's foreign friends. Ryuu had previously warned them not to speak of magic to the majority of the children since only a couple of them were actually magical so there was no worry that they'd let something slip accidentally. Once the other children were occupied, Satoshi pulled Ryuu off to one side and bluntly asked him what had happened.

Ryuu had balked for all of two minutes before he broke down and confessed that he'd been attacked by one of the teachers at Hogwarts; taking care to mention that the man in question had been possessed at the time but not who he'd been possessed by. He hesitated to mention the fact that the teacher in question had died but eventually did when Satoshi asked him what had happened to the man (though he didn't actually tell the teen that he'd killed his attacker). Satoshi then spent several minutes making certain that Ryuu was going to be alright before promising to help Ryuu deflect unwanted questions once they started the summer session.

As the children were called inside to eat, Ryuu was pulled aside by his father and given his next dose of the Cruciatus Antidote; his previous dose having been taken midway during the flight over. The rest of the night was spent hanging out in the house playing games and watching movies. Towards the end of the evening Ryuu, Satoshi, and Sato Kimi (the young witch who'd joined Satoshi and Ryuu during the previous summer during their music practice) were talked into playing a couple of songs for the guests. Satoshi then goaded Ryuu into playing one of the pieces he'd been learning since winter break though he only agreed after his first friend agreed to play something new as well. He ended up playing one of the better known pieces called Memories from Cats, the musical. The party broke up not long after that and the weary travelers happily fell into bed now that the day was finally over.

The week before classes started was spent taking their guests to see the local sites, one of which was District Seven where they purchased the supplies they'd need for their up coming classes. The only time Ryuu didn't join in the site seeing was when he sat for his assessment tests for his junior high classes and in the afternoons on Friday and Saturday when he resumed his Aikido lessons. Takahashi-sensei had taken one look at Ryuu's bruises that first day back and hustled him into the office before demanding to know who'd attacked him and why he'd allowed someone to get close enough to do that much damage to his throat.

Ryuu would spend the rest of the summer working on building up his stamina and strength once he'd explained he'd been attacked when he'd been exhausted and hadn't been strong enough to free himself. He'd also had to let his instructor know that the man who attacked him was dead before he'd stopped promising to make the man pay for attacking his student; Ryuu actually found the man's protectiveness touching since he hadn't thought the man had cared about him to such an extent.

Before they knew it, the trio was walking through the portal that connected Ryuu's home to Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu where they were met by Hatake-sensei and Healer Inoue. Hatake-sensei pulled Hermione and Neville on ahead to help them check in with the guard at the bottom of the cliff while Healer Inoue apparated Ryuu directly up to the castle in order to save time. Ryuu was then escorted to the Healer's office where he was given a complete check up and had his injuries looked over to make certain they were healing properly.

Ryuu also handed over the vials containing the doses of the antidote he'd need to take for the week, minus the one he'd take at supper that evening. Included with the vials of potion were a set of instructions from Professor Snape containing a list of potions that would interfere with the antidote, a detailed explanation of what would happen should Ryuu miss even a single dose, and how to contact him in the event something happened to Ryuu's supply of antidote before he could finish the full regime (not that Inoue needed that information since he was familiar with the antidote).

When he was finished, Healer Inoue let him go and Ryuu headed down to the first floor where he was placed in charge of five first years, including Hermione and Neville, alongside Satoshi. The reason Satoshi was assigned to help him was because this was the first time Ryuu was given responsibility over a group of first time students and because the staff had been concerned when they learned about the attack and thought it best to give Ryuu a measure of support in the event the new students asked prying questions. There was also the fact that three of the students Ryuu was set to guide through the first week of the session didn't know sign language which meant Satoshi would be acting as translator as well (to spare Ryuu's other friends the task because they weren't familiar with the school and hadn't yet learned much Japanese).

Once they reached the third floor, where the dorms were, Hermione reluctantly left the group and joined Kimi, who was also leading around a group of female first years. Hermione would end up bunking with the fourth year since she was well known to Ryuu and would therefore not add any undue stress by making Ryuu deal with a complete stranger. (It was something Hatake-sensei had suggested to Headmaster Yamamoto when he'd notified the man that Ryuu had requested permission to sponsor two students instead of just one; one of which was a girl.) While Hermione was putting her things away, Ryuu and Satoshi led the other group down the hallway containing the boys' dorms for the summer students.

Neville would be bunking with Ryuu this year while Satoshi bunked with one of the other first years in the group and Ryuu was a little sad to find that he was no longer rooming with his first friend. On the other hand he didn't mind bunking with Neville which was infinitely better than bunking with a complete stranger. When they finished putting away their things, they met the rest of their group just outside the common room where they also met with Kimi's group before all ten of them headed up to the forth floor where the first years were to be tested for placement in one of the martial art classes.

Neville and Hermione ended up being placed in the beginning aikido class since they had no former martial arts training and had no preferences for which branch they would be studying. Satoshi then led the way back down to the dorms so everyone could put their uniforms on before heading down to the cafeteria for supper. Neville found the gakuran more than a bit uncomfortable since he was used to wearing loose robes and Hermione looked more than a little self-conscious dressed in the black and silver sailor outfits that the girls wore. Ryuu almost felt sorry for Neville when the rather sheltered pureblood caught sight of the girls with their uniforms on for the first time; his friend's entire face had gone beat red and Ryuu swore Neville ended up with a bit of a nosebleed once he'd noticed the older girls.

When they reached the cafeteria, Ryuu pulled out the vial containing his next dose of antidote and had just been about to uncork the thin bottle when he felt Satoshi clamp down on his hand and haul him back out into the hallway. The sixth year then dragged him around the corner where they wouldn't be seen by the other students before confronting the third year.

"Why the hell are you taking that potion?" Satoshi demanded curtly. "And why, oh why, would you take it out in full view of the other students! Any fifth or sixth year student attending this academy would recognize that potion in a heartbeat!"

_I don't understand…_

"Ryuu-kun, fourth years in the regular term learn about the Unforgivable Curses; what they are and how they work. The healing potion given to those who have been exposed to the Cruciatus Curse is very distinct and unlikely to be mistaken for another potion. The school will know someone used the pain curse on you before the night is over if you take that potion in full view of the students. Why didn't you tell me the wizard who attacked you used an Unforgivable on you?"

Ryuu shrugged as he averted his eyes as he uncorked his potion and quickly took the dose so he wouldn't forget to take it later. He then tucked the empty vial back into his pocket and made to walk away when Satoshi held him back by the arm. He glanced over his shoulder and sagged a bit when he saw the worry on Satoshi's face. Knowing he wouldn't feel right walking away at that point, knowing that his friend was just worried about him, Ryuu let out a silent huff before he answered.

_I didn't say anything because I don't like thinking about it let alone talking about it. I honestly didn't think anyone but the instructors would recognize the potion or I would have taken it before I left my room. I didn't want you to pity me._

"Baka," Satoshi growled out fondly. "Friends don't pity each other when they are hurt; they go out and kick the ass of the person who hurt them. How… how many times did he hit you with the curse? And how bad was the damage done to your nerves?"

_Three times… he hit me with the curse three times. I don't know how bad the damage was but there was a brief time where the pain was so bad I… I wanted to die. _

"How long did they say you would need to take the antidote and how often?" Satoshi asked softly.

_Twice a day for four weeks; I have another week and a half left to go. _

"Chikushou… usually it's one dose for every ten seconds you were held under the curse," Satoshi rasped as he fell back against the wall. "They might have upped the dose because of your age or if it was an exceptionally powerful wizard that was casting the spell. How long were you held under each time? Do you know?"

_I don't know how long… it seemed like an eternity each time and the last time felt ten times worse than the first two times. When I woke up it hurt to breathe or move and anytime someone touched me it felt like white hot knives were cutting through me._

"You're not in any pain now, are you?" Ryuu shook his head no. "Good. I'm sorry I made you think about it. I… I was caught off guard when I saw you pull out the potion and just kind of panicked there a bit. Come on, we should join the others in the cafeteria before they start without us."

Ryuu shook his head again as he bit his lip and dropped his gaze to the floor, his mind racing as he considered what he was about to tell his friend. After a few seconds he looked Satoshi in the eye as he revealed the worst of what had happened to him the night of the attack. _Satoshi-kun… It wasn't just the pain curse he hit me with that night. He… there were cutting curses, bludgeoning curses, tons of curses and hexes I didn't recognize, and… and he cast the killing curse that night too. _Ryuu flinched a bit when he saw Satoshi's face drain of all color; swallowing thickly, Ryuu dropped his eyes to the bandages that were hidden by the long sleeves of his uniform and the barely healed magical burns they hid from view.

Looking back up, Ryuu dropped the mask he'd been wearing since the attack and he felt his heart ache when he saw Satoshi flinch a bit under the sheer torment Ryuu knew was reflected in his eyes. Once Satoshi brought his emotions under control, Ryuu finally finished what he'd started saying. _I killed him, Satoshi-kun._

"If you think I'm going to stop being your friend just because you ended the life of someone who was a threat to you…" Satoshi began to say only to stop when Ryuu held up his hand.

_It wasn't a berserk troll this time. I killed a man with my magic._

"If you hadn't, he would have killed you instead; chikushou, based on everything you've just told me he wasn't playing around. He was actively trying to kill you," Satoshi murmured softly. "I seriously doubt anyone in this school would blame you for trying to protect yourself. And if they did then they are just stupid. I doubt anyone else would have reacted any differently… unless it was to panic under the threat. I don't know if I would have been able to fight back if someone was trying to kill me; especially in the face of the killing curse. Some people say that the sheer fear the curse inspires is enough to freeze you in place; like a deer caught in the headlights."

Ryuu shivered slightly at that thought as they fell into step side by side and finally began making their way back to the cafeteria, Ryuu silently wondering how his friend would have reacted if he'd told him that, for all intents and purposes, the killing curse had hit him because he'd been frozen in place. What his friend would have said if he'd told him that that night had not been the first time someone had tried to kill him and that it would probably not be the last time either. Or if he'd still be willing to be his friend if he was to tell him that he'd been born as Harry Potter.

As they entered the cafeteria, Ryuu caught a glimpse of Hatake-sensei just sliding into his seat and a second shiver danced up his spine as he realized his sensei had followed them without either of them being aware. _Good thing he's only watching out for us otherwise I'd be freaking right about now,_ Ryuu thought as he slid into the seat Neville had saved him and signed a discreet thank you to the gray haired wizard who nodded in return.

The meal was over in no time at all and Ryuu said goodnight to his friends and told Neville he'd see him in their dorm and Hermione he'd see her in the morning as the returning students went to check out their text books while the new students went through their orientation and were introduced to the instructors. Satoshi once more fell into step beside him and the older boy drew him into a conversation about music; asking him if he'd gotten any practice in with the pan flute he'd been given at the end of the previous summer. Ryuu in turn asked his friend what instrument he'd decided to learn over the past year and if he thought they'd be able to advance to the Masters course next summer.

Once they had their books, they went to check out a time turner for the duration of the term. Satoshi didn't have any problems signing for his new time turner but because Ryuu had used one all year he was required to undergo a ten minute assessment to make certain he hadn't overly stressed his body by adding far too many hours over the course of the year. He was eventually cleared to use the time turner and asked to come back for a second assessment halfway through the summer so they could make certain his body continued to adjust to the extra time appropriately. Ryuu was just thankful that Kimura-sensei had kept a close eye on him over the course of the year and hadn't allowed him to turn time on weekends or holidays; not that Ryuu had been interested in taking extra time on the weekends. He would have been more than a little upset if he'd been forced to drop one or more of his chosen electives for the summer if he'd not passed the assessment.

The first two weeks of classes were once again the most difficult for Ryuu; not because the classes were difficult but because of all the attention he was garnering from his fellow classmates as they blatantly gawked at the slowly fading bruises that weren't quite completely hidden by his uniform. That attention grew worse over the second week of classes when Healer Inoue removed the bandages from Ryuu's arms and the full extent of the scarring was revealed. The outside of both arms were covered with a starburst pattern of thin ropy scars centered just below the wrist with his right arm, which had been crossed over his left at the time, taking the brunt of the damage. The healing skin was still fairly sensitive when the bandages first came off and as a result he'd been forced to wear a short sleeved shirt the first couple of days as the fabric of his uniforms chaffed and irritated the sensitive skin.

When Ryuu had become more than a little distressed over the scars (which he hadn't seen sooner because of the magical bandages that were speeding up the healing process) Hatake-sensei had taken him aside to talk about them. It had taken Hatake gently rebuking him for worrying about a few scars when it could have been much worse to snap him out of his downward spiral. It helped when the older wizard pointed out that if he hadn't protected his face with his arms he could have ended up with the scars on his face and chest instead. Instinctively, Ryuu had reached up to touch the strange rune-like scars on his left temple before nodding in understanding. His friends had helped deflect the unwanted attention for which Ryuu was eternally grateful because he didn't think he'd have been able to handle the added stress with everything else at the time.

By the third week, Ryuu had fallen back into the comfortable routine of attending classes four days a week and spending Fridays and Saturdays moving ahead in his non-magical studies and going sightseeing with Neville and Hermione on Sundays. While Ryuu was otherwise occupied on their days off, Hermione and Neville spent time with Taki who was helping them with their Japanese. Around the start of the fourth week of classes, when the first years were allowed to use their wands for the first time in class, it was discovered that Neville was using a poorly matched wand. It was more than a little shock that he'd managed to survive an entire year of classes struggling all because he'd been using his father's wand.

When Neville had hesitated over the idea of purchasing a new wand because his grandmother had been determined he use his father's wand, Ryuu suggested that he continue practicing with his father's wand to improve his control while he picked up a new wand to use in classes since it would make it easier for him to perform the required spells. Ryuu even revealed that he used a less than perfectly matched wand during his classes to help him improve his control. Neville came back from District Twelve (located in Sapporo City, Hokkaido) with a fourteen inch cherry wand with a duel core of unicorn hair and winged horse feather. Both boys thought it neat that they had wands made from similar woods about the same length with duel cores. Ryuu joked that they must have more in common than they originally thought.

That night, due to Ryuu's offhand joke, Neville finally got the courage to finish what he'd started to tell Ryuu the first time he'd been allowed to visit him in the Hospital Wing at the end of term. He spoke of how his parents had been driven insane because of the Cruciatus Curse. He then confessed that the curse had been used on him once during the same attack (he'd only been about eighteen months old at the time) but he didn't quite remember what had happened. It had been because of that curse that his magic had been locked away for most of his childhood and why his family had thought he'd end up as a squib. It was also why he had so much trouble remembering things and was often clumsy; the curse had done minor damage to both his long term and short term memory and affected his motor control to a lesser extent.

Ryuu in turn told Neville that the reason he couldn't speak was because his magic had created a permanent silencing ward over his vocal cords when he was three; admitting that he'd been so terrified of being found by the ghosts that always chased him that he'd desperately wished not to be heard. (Leaving out that ninety percent of the ghosts were actually demons that only a handful of people could actually see.) He even told Neville that he was still frightened of ghosts because they constantly sought him out for some reason. Any guilt Ryuu felt about not telling Neville everything about himself was mitigated by the fact that Satoshi didn't know everything about him; and after all he was much closer to Satoshi because the older boy had been his first friend.

While Ryuu and Neville were growing closer, Hermione was thriving under the challenge of learning a new language, keeping up in her various classes, and tutoring a small group of fellow first years that were struggling in those classes she was excelling in. She'd been moved up from Introduction of Cultural Studies to Beginning Cultural Studies thanks to the previous year of History of Magic with Professor Binns. (Neville had opted to stay in the introductory course because he'd forgotten much of what they were supposed to have learned and figured learning it a second time would help it stick better.) She was light years ahead of the other first years in Spell Casting as well, with Neville a ways behind her but still ahead of the rest of the students, though she hadn't been allowed to skip ahead in that class because the instructor insisted she stay. She was the first student in the class given permission to carry her wand on her full time though, with Neville being fifth.

The last six weeks of the summer session flew by in a blur for the trio; an unusual occurrence for Ryuu since his desire to learn was usually overshadowed by his desire to avoid most of his peers. Part of that had to do with the fact that there were far fewer students going through the summer sessions than there had been during the year he'd been at Hogwarts. It also helped that his nightmares tapered off as his wounds finished healing and his bruises disappeared, which helped him not to dwell on the attack during his waking hours. Even better was the fact that the other students eventually lost interest in speculating on how he'd been injured.

At the end of July, Neville and Ryuu celebrated their birthdays on the thirty-first (Neville's having fallen the day before). As a treat, they spent the day in Tokyo at Yomiuri Land (an amusement park that has been around since nineteen-sixty-four). Somehow Ryuu and Satoshi managed to talk Hermione, Neville, and Kimi into riding a few of the tamer roller coasters with them (much to the amusement of Hermione's parents who knew how much their daughter disliked heights and fast rides). In return, Ryuu let Hermione talk them into watching the sea lion show and spending a good hour just relaxing in the wave pool immediately after riding down the Giant Sky River (a huge water slide of epic proportions). The whole experience was one of the highlights of the summer since it was the first time Neville had ever been to an amusement park and the first time Ryuu and Hermione had actually enjoyed spending time with friends at an amusement park; all three twelve year olds having spent most of their childhood friendless.

At the end of the summer session, Hermione and Neville both were sad to leave as they were scheduled to leave the day after their final day of classes while Ryuu and his family wouldn't be heading back to England until just a few days before their term started at Hogwarts. They had much to look forwards to though as all three of them were sponsoring a student for the upcoming school year. Ryuu had asked Satoshi who had jumped at the chance to meet his idol (who just happened to be Ryuu's Head of House), Hermione had asked Kimi as the two girls had become fast friends over the summer, and Neville had asked fellow first year Ishii Ren (Satoshi's roommate over this past summer and Neville's study partner for their language classes; Ren was helping Neville with his Japanese while Neville in turn helped him with his English).

Two days after his friends had returned home, Ryuu had an unexpected and unwanted visitor in the form of a rather crazed house elf named Dobby. After the strange youkai had delivered its warning for Ryuu to stay away from Hogwarts, revealed that it knew that Ryuu was Harry Potter, and that it served some unnamed master; Madara prevented it from vanishing and held it just long enough for Takashi to seal the elf in a demon jar. A side effect of the sealing was that its slave bond that bound the elf to the family he served had been severed though that information wouldn't be revealed until Takashi unsealed the elf so Dumbledore could interrogate it later in the school year.

The appearance of the strange being and his warnings of terrible things to come triggered a return of Ryuu's nightmares of the attack. He almost asked his father if he could spend the year attending Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu instead but didn't since he knew Satoshi was looking forward to meeting Professor Flitwick. He just prayed that whatever it was that the elf feared would be happening at Hogwarts wouldn't end up dragging him into another unwanted adventure.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka - idiot  
>Chikushou – damn<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And there we have the aftermath of Ryuu's first year and how he deals with everything that happened to him and a lead in to his second year. Now, there have been a few reviews complaining about a lack of reaction regarding Dumbledore's slip ups in the previous chapter and in Dumbledore's defense he actually tried very hard to keep all of the children safe. You have to remember that he is old and set in his ways and splitting his attention between three rather important jobs so he is liable to make mistakes or miss things because his attention is elsewhere. And, up until Ryuu arrived at Hogwarts he'd pretty much done everything he could to make certain Takashi and his son had their privacy as requested. Remember, my Dumbledore is not evil and he is not overly manipulative; he will be misguided, he will make honest mistakes, and there will be times when he thinks he is right no matter what.  
><em>

_Next point; Tenji and chocolate. Yes, I am aware that chocolate is toxic to animals (especially cats and dogs) but Tenji is not a normal cat. He is a magical cat with magical abilities and traits. Also; I would imagine that magical chocolate is made differently than muggle chocolate and that those differences would remove the risk of poisoning one's familiar. However, I should have mentioned that in the previous chapter so that anyone reading my story doesn't assume that I am encouraging them to feed chocolate to any of their pets. (Chocolate is bad for birds, rodents, and snakes too). So I will go back and place a warning either at the top of the chapter or at the bottom of the chapter and in any future chapters where one of Ryuu's or another magical's familiar ingest chocolate. ~ Jenn  
><em>

_**07-28-12:** The prologue and first chapter of this fic have been reposted with minor edits in order to clean up a few grammatical errors, correct a few typos, reword a couple of sentences, and break up a few of the larger paragraphs to improve readability. Chapters two and three will be revised and reposted when I add the next chapter.  
><em>


	21. Demonic Idiocy Abounds

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 20: Demonic Idiocy Abounds while Propagating Headaches<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>September 1992 ~ October 1992<em>

Ryuu wasn't sure if he'd have had the courage to board the Hogwarts Express on the first if it wasn't for the presence of his friends. All three of the sponsored students had flown over with Ryuu just a few days earlier and they'd stayed at the Leaky Caldron and spent their free time wandering in Diagon Alley while waiting for the first to roll around. Like the previous year, Takashi had gotten them to the train station a good hour before their train was due to leave which gave the three Japanese students time to explore a bit. Hermione and Neville met them on the platform twenty minutes later and the six of them claimed an empty compartment shortly after saying goodbye to the adults.

Once the train was underway, their compartment was invaded every ten or fifteen minutes as word spread up and down the train that there were more transfer students attending this year and that Hermione and Neville had both attended the Japanese academy over the course of the summer. Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley made nuisances out of themselves before ending up in a fist fight with each other outside of the compartment after Satoshi had put both them in their places and removed them from their carriage. Ron's older brothers stopped by about an hour later, not to avenge their less than brilliant younger brother, but to make certain that Ryuu was alright. The twins had heard rumors about Ryuu being attacked by one of the teachers and they hadn't gotten the chance to make certain he was alright before school was out; (mainly because Hatake and Kimura had been running interference to prevent Ryuu from being swamped by the school's gossip hounds).

The two prank loving twins ended up flirting with Kimi a bit before they took their leave. After they left, Kimi asked how he'd met the twins and he reluctantly explained how they'd unofficially adopted him into Gryffindor after he'd taken down a mountain troll the previous year. Ryuu's other three friends had already known about the troll but this was the first time Ryuu had actually offered any details into exactly what had happened. He also mentioned that several Hufflepuffs had also kind of adopted him because of the loyalty he'd shown to his familiars by fighting the troll instead of fleeing at the first chance.

When they arrived at Hogsmeade Station, the three new transfer students learned that they'd be riding across the lake with the first years (even though Satoshi and Kimi were in seventh and fourth year respectively). Ryuu silently wished he could have gone with them as he headed to the thestral drawn carriages with Neville and Hermione. Ryuu couldn't help but stare at the demonic horses for several minutes; their presence once again reminding him that he wasn't normal. Neville was the one who ended up pulling him into the carriage when it became apparent he wasn't going to move on his own.

The trio reluctantly split up once they reached the Great Hall, Neville and Hermione heading to the Gryffindor table while Ryuu made his way to the Ravenclaw table alone. He was caught off guard when Padma Patil walked up to him and asked if she could sit with him; the other first year Ravenclaws had basically ignored him much of the previous year so it was a bit odd to have one of his year mates approach him now. Feeling more than a little uncomfortable but not wanting to be rude, Ryuu just shrugged his shoulders to indicate that he didn't care. She politely thanked him and sat down across from him.

"I'm sorry I didn't try to get to know you last year," Padma stated while they waited for the first years to be led in for the sorting ceremony. "It was the first time I'd ever been separated from my twin sister and I spent much of my time alone; Parvati is in Gryffindor with Granger and Longbottom."

Ryuu glanced at her in confusion before he shrugged again to indicate he hadn't been bothered (after all he'd been avoiding most of his fellow first years as well).

"Your dorm mates are certain that you're stuck up because you never say anything; firmly believing that you can speak but choose not to because you think you're better than them," Padma added after a moment.

Ryuu glared at her and rolled his eyes before he signed out a crisp, _Like I care what they think._

"I never said I agreed with them," Padma clarified meekly as she got the gist of how he'd replied based upon his body language. "It's just kind of hard to carry on a conversation when you don't say anything. I know you use sign language but I don't know how to read sign."

Sighing, Ryuu dug into his pack and pulled out his slightly battered whiteboard (it had been through quite a bit over the past three years) and wrote; _I'm sorry, I'm not a very social person and have been told more than once I'm not the best of company. As for my roommates, I couldn't care less what they think of me. I don't speak because I can't speak not because I think I'm above speaking._

Whatever response she was going to make was cut off when the hall fell silent as the first years and the transfer students were led into the room by Professor McGonagall. The hat sang a new song this year and Ryuu briefly wondered if it would sing a new song next year as well before he turned his attention to those students being sorted. He only half paid attention after the first handful of students, only keeping up with the ceremony enough to clap for those that were sorted into Ravenclaw. After the first years were sorted, except for Ren, Dumbledore introduced the three transfer students and stated that they would not be officially sorted because they were only attending for a single year; instead joining their sponsor's house. Ren and Kimi then joined Hermione and Neville at Gryffindor table while Satoshi sauntered over and dropped into the seat beside Ryuu.

"Konbanwa, my name is Maruyama Satoshi," Satoshi introduced himself when Ryuu didn't jump in to make the introductions. "Ryuu-kun's been holding out on me, he never mentioned that he had such a cute friend."

"Padma Patil and I'm not exactly friends with Natsume. We are in the same year though," Padma confessed as she blushed over the cute comment.

"Ah… still a pleasure to meet you."

The food appeared on the table just a few minutes later, after Dumbledore gave out what Ryuu had come to learn was the standard four word introduction to the Headmaster's insanity. Satoshi ended up carrying the conversation during the meal, automatically falling into the roll of interpreter for Ryuu so he wouldn't have to write everything thing down. Padma asked dozens of questions about the Japanese academy and the classes that were offered there. She was a bit put out when she learned she'd have to be sponsored in order to attend the summer sessions and Ryuu pretended to ignore the hopeful look she threw his way at the same time; he had no intention of choosing who he would sponsor for the next summer session until closer to Easter.

"If I could have your attention, I'd like to introduce this year's new staff members," Dumbledore announced after the food had vanished from the tables. "Teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this is world renowned Gilderoy Lockhart. Many of you will also remember Fumio Kimura who will again be hosting advanced theory and spell casting classes for those who are at least fifteen years of age or have passed their O.W.L.s; you will have the entire week in order to sign up for the class. And finally we have Ishikawa Norio who will be taking over our History of Magic courses for the first through third years while Professor Binns will continue to teach the fourth through seventh years."

"All first years will need to take note that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students; many of our older students would do well to keep that in mind as well. Next, magic is not to be used in the corridors between classes and students caught casting spells at another student with the intent of causing harm will be punished most severely. Additionally, there are several items that have been banned from the castle due to their harmful or disruptive nature; to view the list of items please stop by the caretaker's office on the second floor of the castle. And, the fourth floor corridor on the left hand side is out of bounds this year due to structural reconstruction."

"Finally, I will bid you a goodnight; Prefects, please escort the first year students to their dorms."

Ryuu and Satoshi remained seated as they'd planned, allowing the majority of students to leave the hall first. Padma, curious as to why they hadn't gotten up and left with the rest of the students lingered behind as well. Once the hall was clear, Ryuu and Satoshi joined Hermione, Neville, Ren, and Kimi and the six of them made their way through the castle with Padma hovering on the edge of the group until Hermione invited her to join them. Ryuu and Satoshi broke away from the group on the fourth floor (after saying goodnight to their friends) because Ryuu was required to check in with Madam Pomfrey so she could check his arms and go over the reports he'd brought with him from Healer Inoue who'd monitored his recovery during the summer.

"Ah, right on time Mr. Natsume," Madam Pomfrey greeted as she looked up from where she was changing the sheets on the infirmary's beds with deft flicks of her wand. "There are a pair of hospital pants on the bed behind the screen, please change into them and have a seat on the bed, I will be with you in about five minutes. Your friend is welcome to have a seat in one of the chairs while he waits for you."

Ryuu nodded and stepped behind the screen to change as instructed; which didn't take him very long once he'd evicted his familiars from their usual perches. He used the extra time he had to fold his clothes so they wouldn't become wrinkled while he was being examined before taking a seat on the bed as requested. As if she knew the exact moment Ryuu had taken a seat on the bed, Madam Pomfrey appeared behind the screen within seconds of him sitting down. She worked silently for the first several minutes; running a few standard diagnostic scans and checking the various scars he'd gotten because of the attack. Once those scans were finished, she began asking him simple yes and no questions.

"Do you feel any lingering pain at all? (no) Did you finish your regime of potions as instructed? (yes) Have you experienced any light headedness or dizzy spells recently? (no) Have the scars on your arms been giving you any issues? (confused look) Lingering pain? (no), Phantom aches? (no), Tightness of skin when using your arms? (slight nod) Extreme sensitivity? (another hesitant nod)."

"I can translate his answers for you; if you wish," Satoshi offered when it became clear that she was having a bit of difficulty getting exact answers. "If it will help any."

Ryuu gave Satoshi a tight grin when he joined them behind the screen as the older boy stumbled over his feet as he took in the scars on Ryuu's torso that hadn't been there before the attack. The most troubling one ran across Ryuu's abdomen and was close to a half an inch wide, indicating a clear attempt at either cutting the boy in half or gutting him. The rest merely looked like long, thin scratches. Ryuu gave his friend a more natural smile when he made no acknowledgement (other than that first stumble) that he'd seen the scars and promptly asked Ryuu to tell him what he would like him to tell the healer.

"Ryuu-kun says that the scars on his arm still pull a little bit when he's doing his katas, usually when he bends his arm at the elbow or when he rotates and flexes his wrist. He also says it's not as bad as it was when he first got the bandages removed."

"Thank you, young man. What does he have to say about the sensitivity of the scar?"

"Rough fabric, or loose fabric that rubs against the scar is irritating and extreme temperatures bother the scars. They ache when they are cold and there is sharp, knife like pain when exposed to heat. Other than those three things they don't bother him at all and it is once again no where near as bad as it had been when he first got the bandages removed."

"That is not unexpected given the nature of the burns," Madam Pomfrey mused "Do you feel any pain in the scars when pressure is applied? (no) Last question; do any of your new scars bother you? (no) I'm not talking about physically, Mr. Natsume; I'm talking about emotionally or psychologically. (no response)"

"_Ryuu-kun? How badly do the scars bother you? _" Satoshi asked softly in Japanese when Ryuu didn't answer the question.

_I hate them, Satoshi-kun. They remind me that I was too weak, _Ryuu replied after a moment before he stopped and ran a finger across the scar that ran across his stomach. _They remind me that I killed a man._ This time he ran a finger over the worst of the scarring on his right arm. _I don't like looking at them or letting anyone else look at them. It's why I wore long sleeve shirts all summer long once the scars weren't so sensitive. _

"_May I tell the Healer what you just told me?_" Satoshi inquired gently, not wanting to put his friend on the spot given the sensitive nature of their discussion.

Ryuu just shrugged and looked away, a clear indication that he would prefer not to involve the healer but understood she required answers before she would allow him to leave. Satoshi had become an expert at reading his friend's body language over the time they'd known each other and he sighed sadly over the knowledge that the younger boy was still carrying a lot of baggage around inside due to the attack.

"He hates them because they are constant reminders of what happened," Satoshi translated loosely, leaving out any mention of weakness or deaths. "He also doesn't like people staring at them; so he keeps them covered as much of the time as he can."

"I can't say I'm surprised," Madam Pomfrey murmured. "I am sorry to say that I am unable to do anything further to reduce the appearance of the scars that bother you the most. They both carry the taint of the dark magic that inflicted the original wounds with the ones on your arms also being infused with traces of wild magic that I was unable to siphon off when I pulled the excess magic from the burns. The dark magic will fade over time and once that happens, the scar on your stomach should fade a bit. I don't know how the wild magic will affect the burn scars on your arms though so I can't promise that those will fade in time as well."

"I can at least say that the rest of your injuries have completely healed. I would like it very much if you were to avoid getting into any trouble this year. While I'm aware that I don't usually see you for minor spell reversals or potion accidents I'd rather not have to patch you up yet again because you've had yet another close shave with death." Ryuu flinched as if he'd been struck by the bluntness of the Healer's words. "You may leave once you change back into your clothes."

Ryuu changed in record time in an effort to get away from the harsh reminder that the healer had given him. When he finished, he practically ran from the Hospital Ward and probably would have sought out a hiding place where he could break down in peace over the resurfacing memories if not for Satoshi's presence. By the time they reached Ravenclaw Tower, he was once again in control of his emotions (if just barely) and he took the time to explain how to open the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower. Satoshi then answered the current riddle so they could get inside where they ran into Professor Flitwick who had just finished his usual start of term speech about the house rules.

"I trust your appointment with Madam Pomfrey went well?" Professor Flitwick inquired as soon as he saw Ryuu.

Ryuu flinched and looked away from the diminutive wizard before a nudge from a starry eyed Satoshi made him remember he'd promised to introduce his friend to his Head of House at the first opportunity. He let his shoulders sag for a split second before he stood up straight and evasively answered Professor Flitwick's question before introducing his friend.

_Pomfrey-sama said most my injuries were fully healed, Flitwick-sensei. May I introduce you to my friend, Maruyama Satoshi? Satoshi-kun, this is Flitwick-sensei; Ravenclaw's Head of House._

"It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Maruyama; Mr. Natsume spoke highly of you over the course of the previous year," Professor Flitwick stated before he turned a stern glance on Ryuu and added. "I take it you were given some unwanted news by Madam Pomfrey? (Ryuu reluctantly nodded) Well, I won't press you for details at the moment but if you ever need to talk you know where my office is located."

_Hai, sensei._

Satoshi, who'd a moment ago been eager to strike up a conversation with one of his idols, maturely pushed away his excitement at meeting Professor Flitwick (and the knowledge that the wizard knew of him through Ryuu) to focus on drawing Ryuu out of his less than pleasant thoughts. Ryuu eventually gave his friend another tight smile before he gave the older boy a brief tour of the tower and showed him up to the second year dorm where the seventh year would be bunking (as opposed to tossing him in with the seventh years who were considerably more crowded).

There was a bit of a tense moment when Ryuu stiltedly introduced Satoshi to his four roommates, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Anthony Goldstein, and Stephen Cornfoot; whom Ryuu did not particularly get along with. Thankfully, the other boys weren't that interested in starting trouble that night and in no time at all Ryuu curled up into his bed with his familiars after once again setting up his shrine in his wardrobe where the other boys wouldn't be tempted to tamper with it.

The next morning, Ryuu met Satoshi (who'd gotten up early out of habit) in the common room at quarter to six and told him he'd be back in about twenty-five minutes so he could escort him down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Ryuu then headed down to the dungeons where he'd be meeting Kimura-sensei for his usual lessons. By the time he actually reached the dungeons, Ryuu was a complete emotional wreck. It had been the first time since the attack that he'd traveled through the castle alone and from the moment he'd stepped outside the tower he'd been on high alert, expecting an attack at every corner; constantly tensing every few steps and checking over his shoulder to make certain no one was following him.

He was a good half an hour late for his lesson and Kimura-sensei had taken one look at him and frowned. They ended up spending the entire lesson talking about how Ryuu was handling being back at Hogwarts. When Ryuu admitted that he was fine so long as he wasn't alone, Kimura suggested having Maruyama join them in the mornings for a couple of weeks so he wouldn't have to walk alone. Ryuu also mentioned that Madam Pomfrey's callous remark about not wanting to have to patch him up again should he find himself being facing another life or death situation hadn't helped.

Kimura-sensei then walked him back to the tower when their time was up before he left to prepare for his first official class. Ryuu headed up to his dorm once the older wizard had left, pleased that the other students were all currently sitting down in the Great Hall eating breakfast. Stepping into the bathroom, he gave the time turner beneath his shirt two quick turns and waited for the world to settle back into focus around him before he stepped back into the dorm just as his earlier self was heading down to the common room. Grabbing the clean set of clothes and his school robes that he'd set out earlier, he headed back into the bathroom and took a quick shower before getting dressed for the day.

He then packed his book bag with all of his class books since he wasn't certain which classes they would have that morning and sent a silent thanks to the person who'd invented the feather light and space expansion charms as he shoved the last of his Defense books into the rather small bag. Once he was ready, he woke up his familiars and settled them onto their usual perches on his shoulder before he headed down to the common room where Satoshi was still sitting flipping through some of his text books.

"When did you get back and how did you get changed so fast? Oh never mind… I just realized what you did," Satoshi muttered mostly to himself as he put away his book and stood up.

Ryuu gave his friend a tired smile as they stepped out through the entrance and headed down towards the Great Hall. As they walked, Ryuu tried to think of how to ask Satoshi if he was willing to tag along to his morning lessons so he wouldn't have to walk through the castle alone. Unfortunately, no matter how he approached the question he always ended up sounding weak and pathetic; only babies are scared of walking alone, right? Ryuu was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he jumped a bit when Kimura-sensei met them just outside the doors to the Great Hall.

"Did you ask Maruyama-kun if he'd be willing to join you in the mornings, Natsume-kun?" Kimura-sensei asked expectantly. Ryuu shook his head no and stared down at the floor as Satoshi glanced at him questioningly. "I suspected you might be a bit reluctant to ask for support, which is why I waited for you out here. Maruyama-kun, if you don't have any objections I'd like you to escort Natsume-kun down to the dungeons and back up to Ravenclaw Tower every morning for the next two weeks; in order to allow Natsume-kun some time to adjust to being back in the castle."

Ryuu flushed when Satoshi glanced at him a second time before answering, "I don't mind, Kimura-sensei. May I bring my assignments or an instrument with me so I have something to do while you and Ryuu-kun are busy?"

"You'll be camping out in my office during the lessons so you may bring whatever you wish. Thank you for agreeing to this; the extra two hours are not going to affect your schedule over much are they?"

"It's no problem, anything for a friend. And no, I was only taking an extra two hours in the afternoon since the only schedule conflict Hatake-sensei warned me about was for our afternoon training."

"That is good; Healer Inoue would have my hide if I encouraged you to add too much time, even for such a short period of time. Speaking of your afternoon training; Ishii-kun, Longbottom-kun, and Granger-kun are not to join you during the week. They have not been cleared to turn yet. They will be joining you for your weekend training sessions though so they won't fall out of practice."

"Hai, sensei."

Kimura left them at that point and they headed into the Great Hall for breakfast, Ryuu even more subdued than usual. Satoshi waited until they'd taken their seats and dished up their food before he finally broke the silence.

"You know I wouldn't have thought you weak if you had asked me yourself."

_I am weak. I can't even walk through the castle without jumping at every shadow._

"_Baka… we talked about this over the summer_," Satoshi chided in Japanese so that most of the scattered students in the hall wouldn't be able to listen into the conversation. "_No one expects you to just go on as if nothing happened. I mean really, you were attacked while in the castle by one of the teachers; I wouldn't feel safe here if that had happened to me. I doubt anyone would have blamed you if you'd chosen to not come back."_

_I didn't want to come back, not really. If not for you and the others coming here this year, I probably would have tried to talk otousan into switching my enrollment over to Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu for the rest of my magical education._

"Hnn," Satoshi hummed in reply before he instructed Ryuu to stop playing with his food and eat something. Ryuu rolled his eyes and replied back with a sarcastic _hai, kaasan_ that made Satoshi laugh.

A few minutes later they were joined by Padma and Ryuu's improving mood slipped a bit as he still wasn't exactly certain what his fellow second year wanted from him. About that time Professor Flitwick came around to pass out their class schedules and Ryuu spent a few minutes looking over his before he swapped with Satoshi so they would be able to figure out if they could spend any time together between classes. He was a bit sad to find that the only time they'd be able to spend together during their afternoon training sessions. They would at least be able to spend each evening studying together and they could practice their music on the weekends.

Breakfast ended ten minutes later and Ryuu reluctantly said goodbye to Satoshi as he joined Hermione and Neville only to find Padma once again tagging along. He glanced sideways at her and caught her looking at him and he blushed before he sped up a bit in order put a bit of distance between the two of them. In his effort to avoid his fellow Ravenclaw, Ryuu listened in on Hermione and Neville's conversation only to find Hermione was mooning over Professor Lockhart and how she'd met him in person on the day she'd purchased her books.

Sighing because he had no desire to enter that conversation, he glanced down at his watch to check the time and pulled his schedule out of his pocket to make certain they were headed to the correct classroom. It was then that he realized that he had a choice to make; attend Transfiguration for two hours before turning back time to attend his fourth year History of Magic Class and spend an hour in the library studying or vice versa. In the end he chose to go to Transfiguration first since it was a more magically demanding class than History. He frowned when he realized his current schedule meant that he'd need to add an additional two hours a day on top of the eight hours he'd done the previous year.

"What's wrong, Ryuu?" Neville asked as they finally reached the Transfiguration classroom.

_Nothing, I'm just going to have to speak to Kimura-sensei about my schedule after class is over. I'll have to meet you guys in the library when I'm done._

"Okay, I'll let Hermione know. Oh… and just so you know Ren will be meeting us there as well since the first years have that time free as well."

The rest of the morning passed fairly quickly for Ryuu. The explanation Kimura-sensei gave him regarding his schedule was that it was the only way for him to attend the fourth year history class and that they would reconsider changing his schedule if it turned out to be too much for him at any point. Padma was still tagging along with their group and by lunch time he gave up trying to figure out what she wanted; figuring she'd eventually become bored and drift away on her own. Lunch was spent with their entire group crowded around the end of the Ravenclaw table and Ryuu was certain that the rest of the day would be much better than his rough start that morning. Unfortunately, things went downhill quickly right after lunch as the second years headed to the Defense classroom for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The class started out with their teacher parading about like a stage magician or possibly a runway model. Ryuu could only stare at the hundreds of magical portraits of the man that were staring and winking out at the class in undisguised disgust. He thought maybe the rest of the lesson could be salvaged but was proved wrong yet again when Lockhart passed out a quiz that was nothing but a bunch of questions about the wizard's personal life and not one question about any related to Defense or the Dark Arts in any way. What made it worse was all the giggling and sighing the girls in the class began giving voice to the moment their instructor had stepped into the room. Instead of actually taking the test, Ryuu tucked the handout into his book bag so he could show it to Professor Flitwick later.

After the tests were handed in (only a few people actually bothering to complete the tests and all of those that did being girls) Lockhart went over the answers in fine detail since so few people 'passed' the quiz. In an effort to ignore the wizard's self aggrandizing, Ryuu spent that time pretending to pay attention while he lavished attention on his two familiars. When it appeared that the man was actually going to move on to the real lesson, Ryuu glanced up just in time to witness Lockhart pulling the cover off a cage of oh so familiar purple demons that locked eyes on Ryuu the moment they were uncovered, their voices high a they chittered nonsensically to each other.

"_What's that…? Where's that…? There! Tasty! Power… tasty power! Ours… all ours._"

Ryuu couldn't move… couldn't breathe as he stared at the newly revealed pixies in sheer horror. He hadn't seen the horrid little demons since Takashi had rescued him from his aunt and uncle's house and Hogwarts was the absolute last place he'd imagined running into any of the youkai that had once hunted him so mercilessly. He'd run into other youkai while in England and Scotland, had helped his father seal or exercise more than a few of them the year before but aside from the poltergeist and the ghosts none of the demons had entered the castle (unless you counted the thestrals but they stayed outside). The purple demons on the other hand were right there in front of him with only the thin wire of the metal cage standing between him and his nightmares.

"_Tasty! Want tasty! Ours… Need tasty power!_"

"Well, let's see how well you fare against the little blighters," Lockhart blithely announced as he opened the door of the cage to Ryuu's everlasting horror.

"_Free! Free to eat! Tasty all ours! Give… give it here!_"

As one his classmates screamed and dove beneath their desks as the pixies made a beeline straight for Ryuu who still hadn't been able to move. Just when Ryuu feared the demons would be able to reach him, they ran into the protective barrier that his amulet produced; all two dozen of them stopping over two feet away from him. Closing his eyes, Ryuu sagged in relief and slouched down in his seat until he felt Shogun and Tenji both launch off his shoulders and attack the now agitated demons.

"_No! No hide! Gives us tasties! Is ours… all ours! Ahhh… fly! Feathery eyes and furred teeth! No fight… wants tasty power!_"

"Oh that won't do at all! Allowing your pets to help you out is cheating!" Lockhart declared as he pulled his wand and aimed it at Shogun.

Ryuu immediately jumped to his familiars' defense, pulling his hanbo and using the staff to make his instructor drop his wand before he could fire a spell that the owl. Ryuu then spun in a complete circle as he held his staff out at arm's length, knocking the pixies to the floor where they lay stunned as their high pitched cries finally drove him over the edge. When he stopped, Shogun reclaimed his perch while Tenji pawed at the downed pixies with one paw at his feet.

"I say, that was uncalled for my boy," Lockhart cried as he clutched his hand and retrieved his wand. "I'm going to have to assign you a detention for assaulting a professor and I'll be confiscating your stick. I'll just take that now along with your name."

When the man reached out to grab hold of his staff, Ryuu jumped backwards and glared at the man. When it became obvious that the man wasn't going to give up that easily; Ryuu grabbed his bag, whistled shrilly to get Tenji's attention, and flipped Lockhart the bird before he fled the classroom (despite the fact that there was still a half hour left before class ended). Momentarily forgetting that he wasn't there; Ryuu headed to the classroom that had been turned into a dojo the previous year in search of Hatake-sensei. When he didn't find him as expected, Ryuu despaired for a full minute before his eyes fell on one of the sparring dummies Hatake-sensei had created for him to practice with last year. Needing an outlet for his anger and frustration, Ryuu activated three of the dummies and faced off against all three of them with nothing but his hanbo.

Ryuu lost all sense of time as he attacked the dummies with unrestrained fury, tears of frustration and self disgust pouring from his eyes. He never heard the door open to admit Kimura-sensei, Satoshi, and Kimi twenty minutes into the next class period; his older friends having sought the older wizard when Ryuu didn't turn up to show them which room the dojo had been set up in. Shortly after his unseen audience arrived, Ryuu's emotional state began to take its toll on his ability to keep up with the practice dummies and he quickly ended up on the receiving end of their less than gentle attacks. He barely even noticed when the blows suddenly ended a few seconds later as he let his hanbo clatter to the ground as he pressed his hands to his face.

"Care to explain what you were thinking?" Kimura demanded in a misleadingly pleasant tone.

_I lost control_, Ryuu replied after he dropped his hands away from his face.

"I see. Anything else you have to say for yourself?"

_I do not regret protecting Shogun. I will not allow anyone to target my familiars again._

"Since when does activating the training dummies without proper supervision have anything to do with your familiars?"

_I was angry and needed someone to talk to but forgot that Hatake-sensei wasn't here this year. I didn't think and will accept whatever punishment you see fit to hand me for my lapse in judgment for foolishly breaking the rules of the dojo,_ Ryuu replied simply before he looked up at his long time teacher with angry green eyes as he added; _However, I refuse to attend detention for protecting Shogun who was only protecting me from the demons in turn. I don't care if he is a teacher; if he tries hexing my familiars again I'll hit him again._

"Hold on one moment… did you just say you attacked one of your instructors?"

_He pointed his wand at Shogun._

"I think you need to start at the beginning, Natsume-kun," Kimura instructed as he signaled for the other two to start their katas.

Ryuu spent the next half hour explaining about his first Defense lesson of the year; how the instructor did nothing but give them a test about how well they knew him and spent more than half the class talking about himself before unleashing a cage full of youkai on the class. He told the older wizard about his amulet protecting him from the purple demons and how his familiars had attacked them because the demons had tried to attack him. He then repeated what Lockhart had said about him cheating because Tenji and Shogun defended him and how the man had tried to fire a spell at the owl.

Ryuu next explained how he'd knocked the man's wand out of his hand and stunned all of the demons only for the man to assign him a detention and try to confiscate his hanbo. At that point in the tale, Ryuu went beat red as he told his sensei that he'd flipped the other teacher off before fleeing from the class. How he'd come looking for Hatake-sensei and found the empty dojo and how he'd just been so angry. He didn't hesitate to admit that he hadn't even thought twice about activating the dummies; wanting nothing more than to take his frustration out on something.

"Give me the blank test you kept, I will speak with Flitwick-sensei about what happened in class during supper. I will also speak to Lockhart about his detention and his inappropriate attempt to use a spell on your familiars. As punishment for breaking the rules of the dojo, you will not be allowed to step foot inside the dojo for the rest of the week. You will instead spend the time you would normally be training in your dorm room in quiet contemplation and mediation if you are not attending your other classes. You will start this afternoon as you will spend the rest of this period in the corner meditating while you wait for Maruyama and Sato to finish their training for the day. After they turn back to attend their afternoon classes you will go straight to supper; you are not to turn any more time today."

_Wakarimasu, sensei._

Once he managed to survive the first week of classes (by the skin of his teeth and copious amounts of headache relieving potions), Ryuu finally managed to settle into his new class routine. Wednesday and Friday afternoons still tried his patience as he disliked being stuck in the same room as Lockhart who seemed to take pleasure in tormenting his students with reenactments of supposed feats. At least the man never pulled Ryuu up to the front of the class to help out with the stupid games (mostly because the man was frightened of Kimura after the Japanese wizard put the fear of god in the man for stupidly trying to attack a familiar). What bothered Ryuu the most about the man though was the way the female population at Hogwarts (including a good number of the staff) seemed to fawn over the obvious fraud.

Padma had somehow become a permanent fixture during that time. She would often try to draw Ryuu into a conversation like she had before the feast that first night back in the castle but Ryuu rarely ever responded to her. He did his best to ignore her because she always seemed to be asking prying questions about him, the things that had happened to him during the previous year, and the incident with Lockhart on the first day of classes. If she'd actually been trying to befriend him instead of interrogate him he might have been more receptive to her presence but he was beginning to suspect that she just wanted information and an invitation to the Japanese Academy.

His friends did their best to shield him from her persistence but they couldn't protect him all the time (though not for lack of trying). He finally got fed up with her constant questions during the afternoon study session on Halloween day. He slammed his books closed, scrawled the word 'urusai' in three inch letters across the bottom of the parchment he'd been using to write it essay on, tore it off, and threw it at her before he gathered his things and stormed off. He ignored the sound of Padma asking the others what she'd done wrong (despite being intelligent she was surprisingly clueless about some things) and the meaning of the word he'd written down on the parchment.

The first place he'd gone was up to his dorm to drop off his books. He then headed down to the dojo only to stop when he remembered that his earlier self was currently already using the room along with Satoshi and Kimi's earlier selves. He figured it was probably best he didn't spend time in the dojo alone in his current state of frustration given how stupidly he'd behaved earlier in the term. Ryuu didn't want to just hide in the dorm room until it was time for the feast though and he had no intention of wandering aimlessly through the castle. What he really needed was to work off his frustration in a productive manner. After a quick glance out the window to see how much light remained, Ryuu opened his flute case, grabbed his shinobue, and headed out onto the castle grounds with his familiars.

He sought out the tallest tree at the furthest edge of the lake that still had leaves clinging to its branches and climbed up to the branch where the leaves were thickest after setting Tenji down so the kneazle could explore the surrounding area (Shogun having already flown off to stretch his wings when they first stepped outside). He then sat back against the trunk of the tree and closed his eyes as he began running through the scales on his first flute. From his scales he moved on to the various pieces that Taki had taught him through the years, pulling the notes from his memory as he simply played song after song. When he ran out of songs he poured his heart into the music, letting his soul cry out to the wind as he slowly let go of his emotions.

When Ryuu finally returned to reality, his face was slightly chapped from the wind drying the tears that had slipped down his face while he was playing. The moment he opened his eyes he groaned as he realized that the sun had set while he'd been lost in his own world and he knew his friends were going to be upset with him for missing the feast after he'd promised to attend this year. Sighing, he dropped down out of the tree and prepared to sprint up to the castle only to freeze when he heard someone crying nearby. Tucking his flute into his robes, he pulled his hanbo off his back and searched through the scrub brush that grew between the trees at this end of the lake until he stumbled across a young witch.

Ryuu recognized her as one of the new Ravenclaw first years after studying her for a moment as he slipped his hanbo back across his back now that he knew she wasn't a threat. She had long blonde hair that was more silver than blonde it was so pale and it was currently all tangled up with leaves and twigs. Her robes were also covered with dirt and leaves, the ends looking a bit tattered as if she'd been running through the brush, and what could be seen of her bare feet were bleeding where she'd cut and scraped them. What he could see of her face was red and raw from the tears she'd been crying. The thing that stood out the most though, to Ryuu, were the dozens of tiny fairies that were fluttering about the blonde's hair.

They were the smallest youkai Ryuu had ever seen, barely half the length of his pinky finger, with gossamer wings that looked as if they'd been spun from spider silk and sparkled like the morning dew. Unlike the purple demons (which he'd later learned were actually labeled as pixies by wizards) Ryuu sensed that these youkai wouldn't harm him. He was still studying the tiny beings when a few of them took notice of his presence and fluttered closer to him (as close as they could get with the amulet holding them back), their curiosity plain to see on their tiny faces.

His attention was brought back to the young first year when she opened her eyes and looked up for the first time since he'd found her. She started a bit, apparently having missed hearing him sneak up on her but instead of running away she just stared at him with wide blue eyes that were still swimming with tears.

"Are you real?"

Ryuu blinked and tilted his head to one side at the oddest question he'd ever been asked only to smile softly as he recalled wondering something similar about Takashi shortly after his cousin had taken him away from the nightmare that had been his early childhood. He pushed his memories aside as he focused on the girl once more and nodded in reply to her question which actually made her frown a bit.

"How do you know? Would you be able to tell if you weren't real? Or would you still think you were real?"

Ryuu shrugged and shook his head, wondering what made her ask such questions. He then glanced at the tiny youkai surrounding the young witch and recalled a time when he too questioned reality when his waking hours had been filled with nightmares that were sometimes worse than the ones that haunted his dreams.

_Can you walk?_ Ryuu asked when she didn't say anything further; only to frown when he realized that she probably didn't know sign language and he'd left his whiteboard in his bag with his books because he'd not been thinking clearly at the time.

Squatting down beside her, Ryuu pointed at her feet and then pointed towards the castle before pantomiming walking with his fingers. It took her a few guesses to figure out what he was trying to ask and when she did, she ended up crying a bit more. He spent several more minutes trying to find out exactly what was wrong and he huffed in exasperation because he didn't feel right leaving her where she was sitting just to fetch a teacher. Eventually, she calmed down enough to reveal that she'd hurt her ankle and pulled up her robe just enough to reveal a black and blue ankle that had swelled up three times its normal size. Ryuu quickly came to a decision and when she finally looked back up at him, he pointed to himself, then pointed to her, rocked his arms like he was cradling a child, and finally pointed towards the castle.

"You're not doing this just to humiliate me further, are you?" the girl asked softly.

Ryuu shook his head no even as he wondered who'd been trying to humiliate her in the first place and if they were the one or ones responsible for her current condition. He waited a minute longer to see if she had anything further to say before he moved closer so he could gently lift her into his arms. He couldn't help the tremor that shot through him when she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck and it took every ounce of will power he had not to drop her. He took a few deep breaths to center himself before he stood up and adjusted his hold on her so her slight weight wouldn't overbalance him. He then let out a shrill whistle to call his familiars back to his side before he headed back towards the castle.

"You're awful nice for one of the larger spirits," the girl declared after a few minutes and Ryuu nearly dropped her when he registered the fact that she thought he was a spirit. "I'm surprised your presence hasn't frightened away the nargles; they are afraid of being eaten. You aren't going to eat my nargles are you?"

Ryuu stopped walking as he suddenly realized that she was talking about the tiny fairy-like youkai that were fluttering all around them just beyond the protective barrier that his amulet created. He stared down into her innocent blue eyes with wide green eyes until he realized that the tiny little fairies must be yet another of the magical youkai that all witches and wizards could see. _Of course they're magical… more than half the blasted creatures from this world are magical youkai. _Shaking his head, Ryuu tore his eyes away from the girl's and continued walking towards the castle, not even flinching when he felt Shogun's familiar weight settle onto his left shoulder.

"You have a very handsome owl. I've seen him in my common room a couple of times. Are you the guardian spirit of the castle? Is that why you are helping me?"

This time Ryuu didn't respond to her, there was really no way to communicate with her anyway. He wondered if maybe she was coming down with a fever or something and that was why she believed him to be a spirit. He carried her in silence for several moments and he thought maybe she had fallen asleep when her head gently dropped down against rest against the crook of his neck. The feel of her breath ghosting across his skin sent a shiver down his back and he slowed his steps to contemplate if it wouldn't have been better to have just gone to find a teacher instead of carrying the girl to the castle himself.

"You have a heartbeat. I didn't know spirits could have heartbeats," the girl suddenly spoke up, startling Ryuu yet again. "You're also warm. Even the nargles are chilly when they land on my skin. You smell like the forest; of crushed leaves, bark, and the evening mist."

Picking up the pace once more, Ryuu prayed he could reach the castle quickly. He didn't know how much longer he would last before his control on his panic snapped and he just dropped the girl and ran. The things she said confused him as he didn't know if she was saying them on purpose or if it was just the pain talking. When he reached the courtyard he let out a relieved sigh knowing there was bound to be a teacher some where nearby. He paused beside the door to make certain Tenji had followed him before he braced the girl with one arm and used his other hand to open the door, letting the kneazle enter first so he wouldn't trip over his familiar.

Once they were inside the castle, he used his foot to kick the door closed and headed towards the infirmary knowing that Madam Pomfrey would be able to help the girl. He hesitated once he reached the staircase though as the rest of the staff would be in the Great Hall and they were much closer. Glancing down at the girl in his arms he found her watching him with her wide blue eyes and he remembered what she had said about being humiliated further and instinctively knew she'd never forgive him if he carried her into the hall for all of the students to see. Sighing again, Ryuu began the long climb up towards the fourth floor. He had nearly reached the second floor when he heard the voice.

_Rip… Tear… Kill…*_

The cold, murderous tone of the voice chilled Ryuu to the core as he stumbled to a stop and dropped down into a crouch as he glanced up and down the stairs looking for the source. When the girl opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing, Ryuu reached up with one hand and covered her mouth with it; he then lifted his hand and held his index finger in front of his own mouth in the universal sign for 'be quiet'.

_Soo hungry… for so long…*_

Ryuu glanced up towards the second floor as he heard something scrap across the floor shortly after the voice spoke the second time. His heart yammering away inside of his chest like a jackhammer as he felt a wave of fear wash over him. The girl must have heard the voice this time too because she let out a small gasp and stiffened in his arms. He glanced down at her again only to find her staring down the stairs after the fleeing cloud of tiny fairies that had been following them. She then began trembling in his arms and whimpered something about the nargles being frightened.

_Kill… time to kill…*_

Tenji hissed and arched his back as more scraping sounds were heard coming from the corridor just above them and Ryuu felt his knees go weak with fear. The first year in his arms was crying again, he could feel her tears soaking his robes and trickling down the side of his neck. Whatever or whoever was up there was looking for someone or something to kill and they were trapped on the stairs like sitting ducks. He couldn't very well head back down the stairs because that would leave him wide open to an attack and going up was pure suicide and he'd promised his father he'd be extra careful at school this year.

_I smell blood…*_

The pure joy in that murderously cold voice made Ryuu instinctively clutch the girl in his arms closer to him as if to protect her; one hand holding her face against his shoulder so her soft cries were further muffled by his robes. Tenji let out a pitiful sounding mew as the kneazle dropped back to Ryuu's side and Ryuu could feel the cat's entire body trembling in fear. On his shoulder, Shogun was clinging to him so tightly that the owl's claws were digging through the protective leather pad and into his flesh and he could feel the thin rivulets of blood creeping down his back.

Suddenly a startled yowl broke the tense silence only to be cut off almost as quickly as it started and Ryuu felt his heart stop as he automatically dropped his hand down to Tenji's side to make certain the kneazle was still there beside him. Swallowing thickly, Ryuu balanced the girl on his knees so he could reach over his back to grab his hanbo without letting go of Tenji. If they were to be attacked next, he was going to go down fighting. He heard a pair of footsteps splashing through water somewhere up above him and he tensed as he waited for the inevitable attack while the girl in his arms clung desperately to him.

They were still sitting there ten minutes later when a veritable storm of footsteps began heading their way from the direction of the Great Hall. Frantically, Ryuu spun around and nearly dropped his burden as a swarm of students rose up the staircase only to suddenly crash to a halt when those out in front caught sight of a wild-eyed and deathly pale Ryuu blocking the stairs while clutching an unmoving body in his arms. Curiosity soon turned to discontent which in turn morphed into fear and headed straight towards panic as more and more people took in the sight of Ryuu blocking the stairs like some sort of possessed demon. Eventually, several staff members pushed their way through to the front of the crowd.

"What is the meaning of this?" Professor McGonagall demanded as she glanced once at Ryuu before searching the area above him for some sign of a threat.

When she moved closer, Ryuu began shaking his head back and forth as he strained his ears for the sound of the hateful voice that had spoken earlier. On his shoulder, Shogun gave out a strangled hiss that was half angry and half frightened as he shifted back and forth, his sharp claws puncturing Ryuu each time he moved. Tenji's plaintive yowl echoed eerily in the silence that had fallen over the students and staff alike.

"Mr. Natsume, could you tell me what happened?" Headmaster Dumbledore inquired gently as he stepped forward beside Professor McGonagall along with Professor Flitwick and Professor Lockhart.

"It's obvious the boy's sanity has snapped," Lockhart declared imperiously. "He already attacked a professor; what was to stop him from attacking another student? I told you it was just a matter of time…"

"Put a sock in it you great windbag," Ishikawa-sensei ordered as he walked up behind Lockhart with Kimura-sensei. "Natsume-kun would never attack another person, let alone another student, unless they harmed or attempted to harm his familiars. I know for a fact that he is one of the sanest people I have ever met."

Ryuu was torn between feeling relief that the adults were here now and fear that someone else would be hurt if whoever was lurking up on the second floor attacked while the staircase was so crowded with students. He shivered and glanced nervously over his shoulder while tightening his grip on his hanbo, wondering when he was going to be attacked.

"Natsume-kun?"

Jumping at the sound of his name being called, Ryuu spun around and nearly dropped the girl in his arms once again, making said girl squeal in fright and cling to him tightly. Shaking his head to clear away the crippling fear he felt, Ryuu let go of Tenji and used one hand to pass a cryptic message to Kimura-sensei.

_Ambush waits above… heard someone speak of killing… blood… killed cat… footsteps splashing. _

Kimura's face paled just a touch as did Flitwick's as the tiny Charms professor tugged on Dumbledore's sleeve until the taller wizard leaned down so Flitwick could whisper in his ear. A minute later, Dumbledore ordered several of the teachers to escort the students back down to the Great Hall and bar the doors. Those professors that were skilled in defense (Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, Kimura, and Ishikawa) stayed behind as did the incompetent Lockhart.

"Filius, I'm going to ask you to stand guard over Mr. Natsume and the young lady he is protecting while the rest of us go investigate. Best to keep them here where they won't be hounded with questions by their peers," Dumbledore ordered as he pulled out his wand and moved confidently up the stairs.

As Professor Snape followed the headmaster, the potions master pressed a vial of potion into Flitwick's hand with a whispered 'calming draught; it looks like they both might need it'. The rest of the professors followed along, except Lockhart who looked torn between wanting to take charge of the situation and running in fear for his life. The glare Flitwick sent the pompous wizard (for daring to slander one of his eagles) spurred him into following the others if only to avoid being on the business end of the old dueler's wand.

"You can relax now, Mr. Natsume," Professor Flitwick murmured as he crouched down beside the two students.

Ryuu nodded shakily as he returned his hanbo to his back and sagged in place, making the first year squeal a second time as she nearly lost her grip. Ryuu tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention and when she looked up from where her face had been pressed into his shoulder, he gestured behind her to where Professor Flitwick was watching them.

"Professor Flitwick?"

"Miss Luna Lovegood, I had thought I recognized you," Flitwick replied. "Mr. Natsume already gave me some idea of what happened but if you could tell me what you remember it would be helpful; starting with how you ended up in Mr. Natsume's presence."

"Mr. Natsume? Is that the guardian spirit's name?" the newly named Luna Lovegood asked as she turned back around to look up at Ryuu. "Huh… I would have thought such a warm and powerful spirit would have been named something more powerful… like Dragon or Knight. Doesn't the name Dragon invoke the image of warmth and strength? Much better than being named Summer Beauty."

Ryuu palmed his face with his free hand, half of his mind giggling hysterically because his first name actually meant dragon while the other half of his mind was mentally pulling out his hair at the absurd direction the girl had taken the conversation.

"I'm certain it would," Flitwick kindly agreed. "Though, perhaps, we can debate the appropriateness of one's name another time since we have more pressing matters at the moment."

"Of course, Professor Flitwick," Luna agreed sagely as she let go of Ryuu's neck and turned around so she was seated in his lap as if it was her personal throne much to his embarrassment. "The nargles were feeling unsettled in the castle this afternoon so I took them outside… the poor dears fled right back outside when they were frightened off just now… but we went walking beside the lake this afternoon and got lost. I thought it would be days before I could find my way back when I heard the most beautiful music. I was following the music thinking it would lead me back to the castle when I tripped in a hole and hurt my ankle."

She paused a moment to show the professor the ankle in question before she continued on with her tale. "I cried a bit because it hurt but soon forgot about it because of the music was calling to me. When the music stopped I couldn't help but cry because the silence hurt after such beauty and the nargles seemed to grow sad too. The next thing I knew, the guardian Dragon appeared before me; I could feel his jade eyes weighing my very soul when he looked at me. At first I thought I was dreaming but then he swept me up into his arms like a knight claiming his bride and he carried me off into the sunset… only the sun had already set."

Ryuu flinched and shifted uncomfortably as his face turned beet red with embarrassment over Luna's proclamations. The twitching of Professor Flitwick's lips let him know that the professor was trying not to laugh over Luna's tale and Ryuu's discomfort.

"I never thought I'd fall for the strong and silent type… but then I guess that is what happens when you don't watch where you are walking. My guardian Dragon then carried me away to his castle and my happily ever after only for something evil to rear its ugly head. The nargles were frightened out of their wings and they fled. My Dragon protected me though and kept me safe even when the beast made its first attack."

"I see… did you happen to see this beast that was attacking?"

"No… I was too frightened. I heard it though… it was huge; so big that its body scraped against the walls as it traveled through the castle. If not for my brave Dragon I surely would have perished. Is this the part where he carries me off to his tower and ravishes me?"

Ryuu thumped his head back against the banister several times hoping he'd either wake himself up from the apparent insane nightmare he'd found himself in or he'd knock himself out to escape the madness that reality had replaced itself with.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Urusai – shut up (impolite) can also be used to mean 'Damn! That's annoying!' (literal meaning is noisy)  
>Wakarimasu – I understand (formal, present tense)<p>

**Notes:**

Pixies – The reason no one else comments on what the pixies are saying is that they can only here them chittering and squeaking; meaning only Ryuu can actually understand their speech and that is because they aren't just magical creatures, they are magical youkai. I don't know if Takashi would understand their speech clearly either because he lacks magic... I hadn't given that scenerio that much consideration.

* Quotes from HP & Chamber of Secrets, Chapter Eight, Pages 137-8, US Edition (paperback)

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I apologize for not getting this up sooner, I'd planned to post it Monday but I picked up a nasty flu/cold bug thing on Sunday and I didn't leave bed for two days I felt so horrible. I've got the next chapter uploaded and will have it formatted and posted tomorrow.  
><em>

_Anyway, Ryuu has now been introduced to the uniqueness that is Luna and he's just boy enough to not know what to make of her. I have to say that I love writing Luna because there is so much you can do with her character and it can be so fun using her to rile up the other characters! More about Luna's abilities and her loonyness will be explained throughout the rest of the story. ~ Jenn  
><em>

**08-01-12:**_ Chapters 3, 4, 5, & 6 have just been replaced with minor edits and corrections. There were no major changes made to any of the chapters so there really is no need to go back and re-read them unless you wish to. More chapters will be updated tomorrow when I post chapter 22.  
><em>


	22. Hidden Chambers are Hazardous

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 21: Hidden Chambers are Hazardous to One's Health<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>November 1992 ~ June 1993<em>

Ryuu let out a soft sigh of relief as he turned his test paper upside down and placed his quill down on top of the desk. He spent a few minutes rolling his shoulders and neck to loosen cramped muscles before he glanced up at the clock sitting above Professor McGonagall's desk. When he dropped his eyes back down to the desk, he briefly met Professor McGonagall's eyes as she looked his way. She silently asked him if she was finished (one of the few hand signs the transfiguration mistress had learned the previous year) and dismissed him with a wave of her hand when he nodded an affirmative.

Gathering up his things, he left both quill and test on the desk and unobtrusively slipped out of the classroom and headed towards Ravenclaw's Tower. As he walked he thought about everything that had happened over the past two months.

After Luna had finished her _fantastical_ story about what had happened that evening, and he had stopped trying to knock himself out, Ryuu had given Professor Flitwick a much more coherent version of what had happened; starting with how he'd stormed out of their study session in frustration. He glossed over what he was feeling as he played his flute in the tree as he didn't think it important and went on to describe how he'd found Luna crying in the brush. He mentioned in passing the fact that she'd been surrounded by miniature fairies and how he'd learned she'd been hurt. He skipped over the strange one-sided conversation Luna had held during their walk back to the castle and moved right to the point where he heard the voice speaking about killing and blood.

At that moment, a strangled cry rang out from the second floor and both Ryuu and Luna had flinched while the first year had given out a half scream. A minute later, distraught wailing was heard as someone moaned about their pet cat while Lockhart's pompous voice called out empty platitudes and boasted how he could have prevented whatever happened if he had only been there. Ryuu snorted silently and shook his head as he tossed a glare up in the direction of the fraud before he returned his attention to his Head of House and finished his tale. Headmaster Dumbledore had appeared at the top of the stairs shortly after that and announced that the entire floor was clear; whoever it was that had attacked Mrs. Norris (the cat that Ryuu had heard yowling) had left.

Professor Flitwick had then conjured a stretcher and tried to coax Luna onto it so he could levitate her up to the Hospital Wing; only the stubborn girl kept insisting that _her_ 'Dragon' was supposed to ravish her first and she wasn't going to miss out on her only chance at a ravishing. Ryuu, more than a little uncomfortable with her insistence that he both belonged to her and that she wanted him to ravish her, simply picked her up and dumped her onto the stretcher before he scooped Tenji up off the floor and sprinted up the stairs. He had tried to escape up to Ravenclaw tower where he knew he'd be safe in his dorm only to be waylaid by Kimura-sensei who wanted to make certain he hadn't been hurt.

That was how he ended up in the hospital wing with his robe and shirt off while Madam Pomfrey patched up the numerous puncture wounds that Shogun's claws had inflicted on both sides of his shoulder. Unfortunately, Luna had been healed first (Ryuu having spent ten minutes trying to talk Kimura-sensei out of dragging him to the infirmary) and she'd bounded around the divider separating their beds on her newly healed ankle and thrown herself onto him. It was at that moment that Ryuu learned the Hogwarts Healer had a sadistic streak; she'd just laughed at his predicament and left him to fend for himself once she was finished with his shoulder.

It had taken him three hours to escape and had only managed that because Luna had fallen asleep with her head pillowed on his chest and her arms wrapped snugly around his waist. During that time she'd talked endlessly about various creatures with strange names, his heroic bravery, and how she wasn't going to let him go until he performed his knightly duty and claimed her as his. Ryuu thought he was going to die of embarrassment as the Healer's laughter continued to ring out every time Luna's exclamations rose loud enough for Madam Pomfrey to hear them in her office. Once she was asleep, Ryuu wasted no time as he slipped out of her clutches, threw on his clothes, and fled the hospital ward with his familiars.

Ever since that day the petite blonde started stalking him in between classes and at meal times. At first he tried to hide from her; thinking she'd forget all about him after a while. Then he'd overheard some of the older students, including Padma Patil (whom he was still irritated with over her nosiness), picking on Luna; calling her all kinds of names such as freak, loony, and baby. If there was one thing that Ryuu couldn't stand, it was bullies. He'd been bullied a lot during his years in public school and while he never lifted a finger to defend himself he wasn't above protecting someone else who was being bullied. And no matter how much he would have preferred to avoid the little first year he wasn't going to leave her to be picked on by older students.

The moment he stepped between the bullies and their target, Ryuu's standing in Ravenclaw shifted; and not for the better. Whereas before he was frequently ignored or hounded endlessly with questions about what had happened the previous year and earlier this year (rumors of Mrs. Norris being petrified had spread through the castle like wild fire), he was now openly mocked and ridiculed (so long as there wasn't a professor within hearing range). The only thing that saved him from being pranked or having his things hidden was the fact that he could and would defend himself. It helped that Satoshi stood by his side as did a number of Gryffindors and the other two transfer students. The biggest supporters Ryuu had turned out to be the Weasley twins, the two boys well known (and more than a little feared) for their pranks.

The other result of his stepping in to protect Luna was that it reaffirmed her belief that he was her personal guardian spirit. She grew subdued though when she started noticing that he was being picked on because he'd protected her and actually stopped latching onto him every chance she got. When Cho Chang, a third year Ravenclaw and one of Luna's tormenters, was found petrified alongside the Gryffindor ghost rumors began to circulate that Luna was Slytherin's heir and she was out to get revenge on those who had teased her. Everyone avoided the first year except Ryuu and his friends from that moment on.

Things had only gotten worse after that, at least in Ryuu's opinion they did. It started with his father coming to the school at Dumbledore's request, carrying the demon jar that held the rogue house elf. The elf had, according to his father, wept with joy over being freed from his bond and promptly refused to answer their questions unless he could be 'bondings to the greatest wizard Mr. Harry Potters Sir'. The elf was just sneaky enough to refuse to answer any question until after the bonding, meaning that Ryuu had needed to be dragged into the entire mess because the elf (once he'd bonded to Ryuu) refused to answer the questions unless Ryuu was the one asking them.

That created more problems because Dobby didn't know sign language, couldn't read at all, and didn't want to believe the translations Takashi was providing at the time. Once the communication issue was worked out (two hours later) Ryuu left orders for Dobby to cooperate with Headmaster Dumbledore, to obey his mother and father, and to learn how to read and write both English and Japanese as well as learn sign language. That was after Ryuu specifically ordered Dobby to never again call him Harry Potter (something that had made Headmaster Dumbledore exceptionally sad). If that had been the last of Ryuu's trouble he wouldn't feel like he had a permanent headache.

What could be worse than a stubborn and sneaky hyperactive house elf? An incompetent teacher without an ounce of talent hosting a dueling club, of course. Ryuu wouldn't have even bothered attending the dueling club if not for Satoshi dragging him there because the older boy had thought that Professor Flitwick would be the one running the club; I mean it would have made sense seeing as Flitwick was a world renowned dueling champion. Sadly, it was Lockhart running the show. Ryuu probably could have enjoyed watching Professor Snape blasting Lockhart across the room if not for the fact that the flop had then proceeded to pair up random students and allow them to attack each other.

Ryuu was his first victim. Throwing a scowl at Lockhart, Ryuu passed Shogun and Tenji to a now sheepish Satoshi before taking his place on the dueling stage with his holly wand in one hand and his hanbo in the other. Ryuu's opponent ended up being Draco Malfoy and Ryuu just knew things weren't going to end pretty because Malfoy was still holding a grudge for Ryuu misleading him during that first train ride the year before. Lockhart then tried to take Ryuu's hanbo from him, saying it wasn't allowed, and Ryuu rapped him on the knuckles with the staff when he reached out to take it. Several of the male students had gotten a good laugh out of that as Lockhart had quickly moved out of range of the weapon to start the duel (the flop's fan club in the other hand started glaring at Ryuu for daring to bruise his knuckles).

Ryuu was right to expect trouble from Malfoy as the Slytherin fired his spell on the count of two instead of three like he was supposed to. Instead of trying to block the spell or allow it to hit him, Ryuu planted the butt of his staff in the center of the stage, grabbed it with both hands, and thrust his body up into the air to flip over the spell before landing back on his feet a heartbeat later. His holly wand was already up and moving by the time his feet touched back down on the floor as he sent a tickling hex at Malfoy and hit him right in the face. Several cheers rang out from the Gryffindor's watching as Ryuu stepped back into position and waited to see what Malfoy would do next.

The snake that Malfoy conjured was deadly and Ryuu could only shake his head at the stupidity of conjuring something so dangerous in a room full of children; then Lockhart had to go and antagonize the thing by blasting it several feet into the air. Ryuu had frozen for a split second when the snake was first conjured because he could have sworn he heard an angry voice complaining about the cold. After Lockhart had annoyed the snake he heard the voice a second time, this time it was spitting mad and threatening to rip and bite everything it could see. As the snake lunged for one of the second year Hufflepuffs standing right up against the edge of the stage, Ryuu lashed out with his hanbo and slammed the snake's head down on the stage, crushing the snake's head.

While he was dealing with the snake, Malfoy fired a mild pain inducing jinx at Ryuu but missed because of Ryuu's lunge to deal with the snake. Ryuu then tied Malfoy up in ropes and dropped him to the floor with a sweep of his staff before planting the butt end of the staff on the floor right in front of Malfoy's face, making the Slytherin scream like a girl and wet his pants. Lockhart tried to claim it had been his expert advice that had allowed Ryuu to win the duel but he was quickly silenced when Ryuu swept his feet out from under him with a low sweep of his hanbo, sending the pathetic man over the side of the dueling platform. That had been the end of the dueling club; Lockhart apparently didn't like being made a laughing stock.

After that night the students had soon started calling Ryuu the Heir of Slytherin instead of Luna, much to Ryuu's annoyance. Their justification was the fact that Ryuu didn't hesitate to humiliate Lockhart and it wasn't long before the rumors that he'd had something to do with Quirrell's death the year before began circulating through the castle again.

Shaking away the less than pleasant memories, Ryuu focused on his surroundings and found himself standing outside of the statue that guarded their common room. He reached out and pressed his hand to the wall behind the status and watched as the door drew back the second the magic recognized him. As he entered the common room, he felt the eyes of the older students studying in the room fall on him and track his progress across the floor as a chorus of whispers sprang up in the room. Ryuu rolled his eyes and ignored the unwanted attention as he headed up to his shared dorm to put away his books and pack his things for the winter holidays.

Inside the second year dorm, he found Satoshi playing softly on his bass; practicing one of the pieces they had learned over the summer. Ryuu felt his fingers itch to pick up his flute as he crossed over to his bed, dumped his book bag on his desk, and lifted his familiars down off his shoulders. A quick glance at the clock showed he had plenty of time before supper would be served and so he dove into his wardrobe and dug out his concert flute and assembled the pieces in record time. Satoshi tossed him a grin and flipped back to the first page of the score when he heard Ryuu warming up and five minutes later the two of them were working their way through the score together.

The next morning found Ryuu piling into one of the thestral drawn carriages with Neville, Hermione, Satoshi, Kimi, and Ren as they headed into Hogsmeade for the holidays. The six of them would be spending half the break at Ryuu's house and the other half at Neville's. Hermione, Satoshi, Kimi, and Ren's parents had all been invited as well and those coming from Japan would be flying out with Ryuu's grandparents that night. This year barely anyone was staying in the castle for the holidays, what with the two attacks that had occurred; one of them being on a student. Ryuu turned back to watch the castle growing smaller as they approached Hogsmeade village and he sent a brief prayer to the gods to keep Luna safe as she was one of the small few that would be staying in the castle.

The holidays seemed to pass by in a rush and before Ryuu knew it they were once again heading back up to the castle. Like last year, Ryuu wished he could have had more time with his family; it was difficult spending most of the last year and a half away from his parents and grandparents. Worse yet was the knowledge that he had another five and a half years left to go in order to complete his magical education. To hide his growing melancholy from his friends, Ryuu played a couple of lively tunes on his ocarina; though Satoshi was able to see through his mask as the oldest member of their group was well familiar with Ryuu's many moods.

Ryuu experienced an odd sense of déjà vu the moment he stepped into the castle as he was tackled by an obviously distraught Luna. Once she calmed down the six returning students learned that Colin Creevey, a Gryffindor first year, had been petrified over the holidays. The new term started out on a dark and dismal point as all students were to be escorted between classes (which made Ryuu's days exceptionally difficult since no one outside of the staff was to know he was turning time).

Kimura-sensei and Satoshi both escorted Ryuu to and from his morning tutoring sessions, with a warning that if there was one more attack Ryuu's morning sessions would be canceled for the rest of the term. Afternoon sparring sessions in the dojo were completely canceled as there was no one to watch over the students as they did their training. That still left him turning time twice in the morning, once for his tutoring sessions and once so he could attend history. Kimura-sensei had taken to turning time with Ryuu after his first morning class to make certain he'd not be left alone.

At that point Ryuu began seriously researching the mysterious Chamber of Secrets; digging out old newspaper articles from the library's storage rooms in order to look for any hint or rumor of the Chamber having been opened before. He already knew what the rest of Hogwarts knew about the Chamber; that Salazar Slytherin had built it in secret and that it housed some sort of monster inside that was supposed to purge the castle of the muggleborns. What Ryuu wanted to know was if there had been similar attacks on students in the past and what was done at the time to stop the person or persons responsible.

He hit pay-dirt on Valentine's Day while hiding in the library from the pink and red garbed dwarves that were tormenting students with sickening songs; courtesy of Lockhart. Ryuu had been browsing through the papers from the nineteen forties when he came across a front page article declaring that a student had been murdered inside of Hogwarts. That was in May of forty-three and Ryuu pulled the rest of the papers from September of forty-two until June of forty-three and began hunting through each issue looking for any mention of petrified students. He soon uncovered a total of twenty-three attacks; the final one being the death of young Myrtle Henderson, a former Ravenclaw.

The news that Hagrid was arrested and expelled for the young girl's death struck a sour note with Ryuu; as he couldn't see Headmaster Dumbledore allowing someone who virtually murdered another student to remain on the grounds. And if Hagrid had been living on the castle grounds ever since then; why would he suddenly start attacking students now? Why wouldn't he have attacked a few of the children here and there through the years? Unless it was an accident? But then what kind of creatures could petrify a person without leaving a mark? Spiders, even acromantulas which was what the article had said killed the girl, inject their venom through their bite and the giant spider's venom was a digestive or corrosive type venom which would enable the spider to 'drain' their prey dry. There would be no point in making their food hard as stone because they wouldn't be able to eat it.

Two weeks after that there was a fourth attack; this time it was a Hufflepuff third year that Ryuu didn't know who'd been found in the out of order second floor bathroom near where Ryuu had heard the first attack taking place. That information sent Ryuu back into his research as he tried to determine where each of the attacks had taken place within the castle and he soon discovered that each and _every_ one of them had occurred within one hundred feet of the second floor bathroom. After supper on the evening of that fourth attack, Ryuu turned his time turner over to Kimura-sensei as his morning sessions were canceled (as he was warned they would be) and he was excused from his morning History classes as he was handed a self study guide and a list of assignments he was required to do on his own time.

Around the end of March, Headmaster Dumbledore was removed from his position as Headmaster and Minister Fudge had had Hagrid hauled away to Azkaban as there had been yet another attack; a seventh year Ravenclaw and a sixth year Gryffindor. That same night, Tenji brought him a black book he'd picked up from somewhere around the castle. Ryuu felt a headache coming on as he wondered where the troublesome kneazle had found the book and he flipped it over to look at the front cover of the slightly damp book and felt chills run up his spine as he saw the date stamped on the book in gold. Opening the little book carefully, Ryuu peered at the inside of the cover and furrowed his brow as he read the name scribed in fading and smeared ink; T.M. Riddle. _The same T.M. Riddle who was credited for supposedly ferreting out the person responsible for Myrtle Henderson's death?_ Ryuu wondered as he felt the earlier chill return and settle around his heart.

He wasn't certain what made him do it… and when his father later asked him why he had done what he did; Ryuu would reply that something told him it was what needed to be done. He'd been sitting in his dorm at his desk staring at the diary that was sitting on top of his history essay and he was suddenly struck by the idea that diaries were meant to be written in; he already knew the old diary was blank though. So that meant there was something special about the diary and whoever had lost it would be frantic to get it back before the secret was discovered and all of his or her secrets were spilled to the castle at large. In that moment, Ryuu decided that for once he was going to be the hunter instead of the hunted and in order to catch your prey you needed to bait the trap; and he instinctively knew this diary was the bait he needed.

Ryuu put together a plan based upon what he knew of the castle, of the attacks, and of his own limited skills. He drew up four simple lost and found flyers that advertised that a black diary with the numbers nineteen forty-two dash three had been found on the second floor corridor; one for each common room. Ryuu then spent several hours over the next couple of days secretly putting an edge on his bokken; turning the blunt practice sword into a true weapon. Next he prepped an emergency kit with a bit of food, a first aide kit, a few healing potions, a fire starting kit, and a warm blanket; he didn't want to be caught unprepared if he could help it.

Everything was ready by the first week of April and the only thing Ryuu was waiting for was some clue as to what the monster of Slytherin could possible be. The answer fell into his lap a week later when he was flipping through the Bestiary; the book Hermione and Neville had given him for Christmas the year before. He'd been idly thumbing through the book when Shogun had knocked it out of his hand when the owl landed unexpectedly on his head because a bored Tenji had chased him from his previous perch. The book had crashed to the floor and fallen open on a page with a picture of a huge, snake with an impressive crest on its head, dark green scales, and eerie yellow eyes.

The next morning, Ryuu approached Penelope Clearwater (one of the sixth year prefects) with his flyers and a written note asking if she'd see that one was posted in each common room so he could return the diary to its proper owner. She agreed and the flyers were up by supper time that evening. Ryuu's trap had been set; now all he had to do was wait for his prey to take the bait.

Over the next week no less than thirty people tried to claim the diary. All thirty of them failed to provide the name that was written on the inside cover of the diary though so Ryuu refused to hand it over. He wasn't surprised that people were trying to trick him out of the diary; after all who knew what kinds of secrets were hidden within its pages. That was why he'd made no mention of the name scribed inside of the cover on his found posters; only the true owner of the book would know what was inside of it. Or at least the current owner; since the book was far older than any student and it was only students that were inquiring about the diary.

His true prey bit the hook about a week and a half after the flyers had been posted and Ryuu was more than a little shocked by the identity of the owner and there was a few seconds where he doubted he was on the right track. He then happened to catch sight of a subdued and distraught Luna and he firmed up his resolve; he could always look else where if his only lead turned out to be a false alarm. He'd been sitting at the Ravenclaw table eating breakfast the day after the Easter holidays were over when he'd been approached by the possible owner of the diary.

"Ex… excuse me… are… are you Ryuu Nat… Natsume," a petite be-freckled redhead dressed in Gryffindor colors asked timidly from behind Ryuu's back. Ryuu glanced over his shoulder and nodded slowly. "I… I believe you have m… my di… diary."

Ryuu reached into his bag and pulled out his white board and scribbled out two simple sentences; _I have had over thirty people claim it as theirs already; all of them have lied. If the diary is really yours, can you tell me the name that is written on the inside cover?_

The girl had blanched as she read what he'd written before swallowing nervously and nodding before she whispered her reply, "Riddle… The name inside is T.M. Riddle."

_Correct,_ Ryuu wrote as he gave her one of his fake smiles. _What is your name?_

"Ginny… Ginny Weasley."

_Weasley? Really? Are you related to Fred and George?_

"They're my older brothers… you… you didn't try to read my diary did you?"

_You have a couple of great brothers; they have been very nice to me. No, I didn't read your diary; I only opened the cover to see if I could find out who it belonged to._

"Oh. The twins are okay, I guess; they always make me laugh. Can I have my diary back now?"

_I'm sorry, Weasley-chan, I don't have it with me because I was afraid someone would try to steal it after the first few people tried to lie about it being theirs. It's in my dorm. Is there some place I can meet you after classes today so I can return it to you?_

"I don't have any classes after three. Can you meet me on the second floor, near the bathroom at three-thirty? I pass by there on the way back to my common room after classes with the rest of the first year Gryffindors."

_I can meet you there._

"Thank you," Ginny blurted out before she blushed bright red and disappeared.

"What was all that about, Ryuu-kun?" Satoshi asked as Ryuu returned his attention to the meal.

_Just making arrangements to return a lost book,_ Ryuu signed as he put his whiteboard into his bag right beside the black diary. His thoughts went to the second floor where he'd hidden his emergency supplies and his sharpened bokken inside the leg of one of the many suits of armor that were scattered about the castle. There would be no going back now… whether or not Ginny Weasley was the one actually behind the attacks he couldn't walk away. After all, the real person responsible could have paid the first year to get the book so they didn't expose themselves.

When the appointed time came, Ryuu was waiting outside of the bathroom (alone after having slipped away from the rest of the Ravenclaws as they were escorted to their next class) with the diary in hand. Ginny arrived just a few minutes after him and her face drained of all color the moment she saw the book in Ryuu's hands while at the same time she put on what looked to be a forced expression of relief. Ryuu felt the same chill dancing down his spine as he noted her conflicting body language and knew he was on the right track.

He held the diary out to her along with a short note he'd written before, apologizing for it having taken this long to return her diary to her. Once she took the book, he bowed and walked away, turning the corner before ducking into the shadows behind a suit of armor, taking off his robes so they wouldn't hinder him (he'd purposefully worn one of his Japanese uniforms beneath his robes), and carefully retrieving his things and his familiars (who he'd left behind the suit before going to meet Ginny) from the suit of armor.

He then crept back to the corner and crouched down low and edged a mirror around the corner so he could watch what the girl would do. He was a bit surprised to find her already writing in the diary; her quill going a mile a minute before pausing as if she was reading what she wrote before writing more. She suddenly stiffened after about two minutes and Ryuu's eyes went wide in shock as she used the tip of her quill to slice her arm open. He then watched her use her own blood to draw a message on the wall beneath the first message that had been left there on Halloween night.

_Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever*_

Ryuu tightened his grip on his hanbo as he watched her pick the diary back up and walk into the bathroom. He counted to three and dashed around the corner and down to the bathroom door on silent feet. He paused just outside the door and listened for any sounds coming from inside and was shocked to hear a somewhat familiar, cold voice, speaking a single word. Immediately after the voice spoke he heard the sound of something scraping across the floor. Pushing the door open just enough for him to peer in, Ryuu slowly glanced into the room and saw one of the bathroom sinks sliding across the floor to reveal a gaping hole. He then watched as Ginny opened her mouth and that cold voice issued forth once again. Her redhead soon disappeared beneath the lip of the hole as she walked down what looked like a set of stairs.

Ryuu nearly turned to go fetch one of the professors now that he knew where the Chamber entrance was only to freeze as he watched the sink drifting closed once more. Cursing his luck, Ryuu darted into the bathroom and used his hanbo to prop the sink open just enough to allow him and his familiars to slip inside the hidden tunnel. He then tugged his staff free and waited for the sink to finish closing before he began making his way down the flight of stairs. When he reached the bottom he was a bit disgusted to find it littered with the bones of hundreds or possibly thousands of rodents, birds, and other forest animals.

Navigating the crude ossuary without making a single sound was a nightmare as a single misstep would cause the piles to shift and the chamber he was in was open enough that the sound would be amplified as it traveled through the caves and underground tunnels. Once he was passed of the field of bones, he moved a little faster but still cautiously through the tunnel network; sticking to the main tunnel as the side tunnels appeared to be too small for even a small first year to pass through safely. He passed an old snake skin ten minutes later and he wished he'd thought to tell someone what he was doing instead of just leaving a letter behind as he took in the sheer size of the old shed.

Sending a brief prayer to his ancestors for protection (both from whatever he would find ahead and his parents' ire once his adventure was over – if he survived) Ryuu moved passed the shed and soon caught up to the petite redhead. As he watched, the youngest Weasley stopped in front of a huge, round door covered with carvings of snakes and for the third time Ryuu heard the voice that tickled his memory. The snakes around the outer edges of the door began crawling around and the tunnel was filled with the sound of bolts being drawn back. When the last echo died out, the great door swung open on well oiled hinges and Ginny Weasley stepped through into the room beyond.

Like the sink before, the door started swinging closed shortly after the girl passed through it and Ryuu mentally cursed his luck because if he passed through the door he'd be trapped behind two sealed doors with the attacker (who he still wasn't convinced was the first year) and the basilisk. Not a pleasant thought. Steeling his nerves, Ryuu darted forward at the last second and once again used his hanbo to prop open the door and winced when he heard a soft crack cut through the chamber as the weight of the door split the staff down the center lengthwise as he dove through the door just before his entire staff shattered; the sharp sting of hundreds of splinters slicing through his skin making Ryuu wince.

_Hatake-sensei is going to be so mad at me for breaking yet another staff,_ Ryuu thought detachedly as he rolled out of the way of the closing door and slipped into the shadows so he could make certain he hadn't drawn the attention of whoever was in the room aside from himself and the youngest Weasley.

Once he was hidden, Ryuu took a good look around the chamber he found himself in and he shuddered at the creepy décor. The walls, ceiling, and floor were made from dark stone blocks and covered with dark green moss and brown slime. There were two rows of rearing snake statues (each one of them about eight foot tall) running down the sides of the room towards the far side of the chamber where there was a colossal statue of a rather ugly looking man with a huge pool of brackish, stagnant water surrounding his feet. Dozens of large black holes dotted the right hand wall, indicating the presence of tunnels leading off into the depths of the castle's foundation. The only source of light in the room was the lamps propped inside of the mouths of the each snake statue.

Keeping to the left side of the chamber and well behind the left row of statues, where there were no openings that would leave his back open to an attack, Ryuu slipped through the shadows searching for any sign of little Ginny Weasley. He found her kneeling in front of the statue right where the floor dropped off at the edge of the pool, drawing something on the floor using blood from the wound she'd inflicted on herself earlier. Nervous, because he wasn't sure what was going on, Ryuu slipped his bokken out from its sheath on his back and pulled his holly wand out of its holster out of habit as he moved closer; taking care to avoid splashing in the scattered puddles that dotted the floor as he moved closer to where Ginny was kneeling.

When he reached the final snake statue in the row, Ryuu crouched down to watch and wait; his familiars quietly sitting on his shoulders though Shogun would shift nervously every few minutes. Twenty minutes later, Ginny had finished whatever it was she was drawing or writing on the floor and she clutched the diary and her wand to her chest as she lay down on top of her work. Ryuu felt the small hairs on the back of his neck rise as the girl began to glow with a sickly green light and he realized she must have been drawing ritualistic blood runes. As he watched, a glowing green hand reached up out of the diary on the girl's chest and his heart froze as an arm followed the hand which in turn was followed by a second arm and a head. Five minutes later, a semi-transparent boy about sixteen or seventeen years old stepped down off Ginny's chest and leaned down to study the now deathly pale girl.

"What a pathetic creature," the boy mused with an unpleasant sneer. "To think that one as great as I was forced to use such a weak-willed _girl_ to rise again. At least she was magically strong enough that I need not be trapped inside her body for a lifetime; that would have been unacceptable." A weak moan issued forth from Ginny as her hands fell limply down to her side. "Don't worry, Ginny dear, your pain will be over shortly. Too bad your knight in shining armor will never come to save you; to think your precious hero was too frightened or too weak to even bother showing his face in Hogwarts. No matter, I will seek Harry Potter no matter where he hides if only to find out how he destroyed me; if he actually did destroy me. No mere babe could destroy Lord Voldemort; I am immortal!"

Ryuu's heart froze for a full minute before adrenalin flooded his system as he finally realized why the voice had been sounding so familiar. The tone, the pitch, the manner of speaking; it was all the same. The only difference was that this boy sounded far younger than his counterpart had when he'd spoken out of the back of Quirrell's head. Ryuu prepared himself to attack; mentally calming his emotions as he focused on the need to use the slight advantage he had in the element of surprise.

At the same time Ryuu was preparing to fight it out with the shade of Voldemort, the entire population of the castle had gone into panic. The new message had been discovered about the time that Ryuu was ghosting through the underground tunnel between the bathroom entrance of the Chamber of Secrets and the inner door of the Chamber and all of the students were sent to their common rooms and the doors locked down. A head count was taken and two students came up missing; Ginny Weasley and Ryuu Natsume.

The moment Satoshi realized Ryuu was missing he'd gone straight to Professor Flitwick and told the vertically challenged wizard that Ryuu had made arrangements to meet with Ginny Weasley after class in order to return a book to her. Satoshi passed the Charms Instructor the flyer from the Ravenclaw common room with the details about the book on it and mentioned the second floor bathroom being the location where Ryuu was to meet with the first year. That information soon solidified Ryuu's image as the Heir of Slytherin in the eyes of the older Ravenclaws; most of them believing he'd taken the missing girl down into the chamber for some sort of sacrifice.

A quick check of Ryuu's desk in the second year dorm turned up all of Ryuu's research notes about the attacks, the Chamber of Secrets, and the beast within the chamber as well as a letter addressed to Ryuu's father. Flitwick was sent to fetch Mr. Natsume only for the man to be found standing outside the gate holding a growling cat tucked beneath his arms. By the time Mr. Natsume had been escorted up to the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore had been reinstated as Headmaster and stepped through the fireplace followed by Ginny Weasley's distraught parents.

Once everyone was assembled, Professor Flitwick passed Ryuu's notes to Dumbledore before handing the letter over to Takashi who opened it without any hesitation. Takashi blanched as he read the note and was completely numb by the time he finished. In his shock, he loosened his hold on Nyanko who tore out of the room like a cat possessed. No one paid any mind to the berserk cat though as Dumbledore had plucked the letter from Takashi's limp hands and read its contents out loud.

_Tousan,_

_If you are reading this then I have made a slight miscalculation and chances are I  
>won't be coming back. I am sorry, father, that I was not able to tell you how much<br>I love you one last time. You have given my life meaning ever since you pulled me  
>out of my cupboard and shown me that there was a world without shadows. Please<br>tell okaasan, obaasan, and ojiisan that I love them and will miss them. Try not to let  
>Nyanko-sensei go mad. <em>

_With this note there should have been a file of research notes detailing everything I  
>found regarding the attacks that have been happening all year, the attacks that<br>occurred back in the nineteen forties, the false accusation against Rubeus Hagrid,  
>and a list of possible suspects. I know Hatake-sensei will be disappointed in me for<br>what I have done but I am tired of being hunted. This time I will be the hunter. _

_If I fail, I suspect the diary is the key and the monster is a basilisk. _

_Love, Ryuu_

"Fawkes! Find them and protect them both!" Dumbledore ordered the moment he finished reading the letter while the Weasley matriarch only wailed louder. The phoenix, that had only shown passing interest in Ryuu due to the jealous nature of the familiar bond, trilled a soft song of hope as he launched himself from his perch, stole the sorting hat off its shelf, and disappeared in a flash of fire.

_While the adults were listening to the Headmaster read Ryuu's letter and the disguised Madara was rampaging, Ryuu had engaged the forming spirit of what he now knew was the young Voldemort in battle. _

Ryuu braced himself and launched himself out from behind the statue where he'd been hiding and managed to land a blow across the lower back of the spirit as it stood over Ginny Weasley. The spirit cried out and fell forward, sinking down slightly through Ginny's body. Ryuu had then tried to hit him a second time only to be forced to pull back and stop his attack when he saw it would hit Ginny instead as the spirit moved out of the way.

"Who are you? How did you get in here? How is it you can hurt me when I'm not yet fully revived?" the older teen demanded coldly as he glared at Ryuu standing protectively over Ginny's body. "Answer me and I may as of yet let you live!"

Ryuu shook his head and knelt down so he could check to see if the little first year was still alive and felt a bit of relief when he felt a weak pulse. He then stood back up and settled into an offensive stance and waited for the spirit to make his next move while watching for an opening to attack.

"Are you speechless with fear? Is that what ails you boy? Come, don't be shy. The longer you take the more solid I grow and once I'm alive enough to hold a wand you will be dead."

Ryuu rolled his eyes and gave out a shrill whistle that echoed through the chamber. The spirit only gazed at him in confusion until Shogun dropped down out of the air and raked him across the face with his talons. Tenji then joined the battle and attacked the teen's ankles with his teeth. While he was distracted, Ryuu darted in and struck the teen hard across the stomach with his wooden blade; the spiritual power he'd inherited from Reiko Natsume flowing through him as he lashed out with fist and foot before dropping back and bringing his sword back up for his next attack. He never got another chance to strike though as the man fought free of his familiars and called forth the basilisk.

"_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four!* Come forth and protect me my pet!_"

Ryuu cursed silently as he let out another shrill whistle and quickly retreated out of the direct line of sight from the statue as the mouth began to drop open revealing a hidden tunnel. He heard something huge splash down into the scummy water at the feet of the stature and a moment later he was knocked from his feet by the wave of water that had exploded outwards. The large chamber was plunged into near darkness as the wave washed over several of the snake statues, extinguishing most of the lamps. Once he was no longer being carried along by the water, Ryuu scrambled sideways and ducked behind the nearest snake statue, his heart pounding loudly in his ears as he strained to hear what was happen out of his sight.

"_Find him and crush him, my pet!_"

Ryuu closed his eyes and silently begged his father for forgiveness as he crouched down low and adjusted his grip on the handle of his bokken. A familiar shriek had Ryuu throwing all caution to the wind as he jumped out from behind the statue and prepared to protect Shogun only to pause in shock as he watched his owl ripping and tearing at the basilisk's eyes with his talons and beak. His heart rose up in his chest as the giant snake snapped at the brave owl and he snarled soundlessly as he rushed forwards with the intent of stabbing the monstrous snake through the throat. Only his sword bounced off the thick scales and snapped in half (sharpening the wooden sword having weakened the structure too much).

"_Kill him! He's right in front of you! Don't let him get away!_"

Diving to his right, Ryuu barely missed being swallowed whole by the basilisk as it struck at where he'd been standing a heartbeat earlier. Rolling back up onto his feet, he threw away the ruined bokken and pulled out his holly wand and fired every jinx he could think of at the huge snake that was thrashing about as it tried to fend off Shogun's attacks while at the same time trying to find him to kill him as he'd been ordered. It was at that moment that Fawkes flashed into the chamber carrying the sorting hat in his talons. At the same time there was an explosion somewhere in the castle above as Madara destroyed the sink blocking the entrance to the chamber.

Ryuu glanced up as the gold and red bird launched into a beautiful song that filled Ryuu with strength and courage as it swooped down over his head and dropped the sorting hat into his hands. He stared at the battered fabric in confusion, wondering what good a bloody hat was going to do against a basilisk. _Why couldn't the blasted bird have brought me a sword?_ Ryuu thought as he stuffed the hat into the bag hanging at his side before he was forced to dodge yet another attack.

As he ran, he leaned down and scooped up the sharpened end of his broken sword so he had something to deflect the snake's attacks with if it got too close. The spells he still occasionally fired continued to bounce off the snake's thick hide and the one vulnerable place he could think of, the ruined eyes, were too small of a target to hit while on the run. _The only way I'm ever going to get close enough to strike through his eyes is to climb on his head,_ Ryuu growled in his mind as he dove behind another snake statue only for the statue to be shattered beneath the weight of the basilisk as it struck at him yet again.

He darted out from behind the ruined statue and headed back towards the human statue thinking he could climb up it in order to get above the monster's head so he could strike from above. He had misjudged the snake's current location though and he felt himself falling forward as the left fang of the basilisk scraped across his back and snapped the strap of his bag as it cut through his shirt and skin. Ryuu rolled away from the pain and stabbed at the snake with his broken bokken, piercing it in the gums of its open mouth, making the beast rear up in pain.

He used the opportunity to run only to trip over the contents of his destroyed bag and he landed hard on his side as he twisted to avoid falling beneath the trashing snake. Fire raced down his back and he knew without a doubt that venom from the basilisk's fang had entered the wound. Closing his eyes to fight back the tears of hopeless rage he felt right that moment, Ryuu reached out blindly and felt his hand fall on the sorting hat. Frustration shot through him as the uselessness of such an artifact and once more he wished he'd been brought a sword instead only to freeze when he felt the cold handle of a hilt form beneath his hand.

Opening his eyes, he found a sword sticking out of the hat and he briefly wondered what else the hat was hiding before he was abruptly reminded of the very deadly basilisk that was out for his blood as the monster's tail smacked into him and threw him skidding across the floor. He barely managed to keep hold of the sword as he sacrificed his hold on his holly wand since the sword was of more use against the enormous snake. Climbing up onto his feet, Ryuu staggered for a few steps until he regained his balance and ran, whistling as he went in order to call Shogun off as the owl was still trying to fight the blinded basilisk.

Making his way to the statue, Ryuu climbed upwards until he reached the man's clasped hands where he had somewhat level footing. He then let out another piercing whistle that rose in pitch before it fell abruptly, calling his owl to his side. And with the owl came the basilisk, the snake irritated beyond all reason at the pesky creature that caused it such pain. The teen's voice, which still screamed out orders to the wounded snake, could be heard just barely over Shogun's battle cries and the uplifting song the red and gold bird still sang as it egged the snake on in tandem with Shogun.

Shifting his hold on the sword, so that the blade was pointed down, Ryuu brace himself as the two birds brought the basilisk to him. Just before he jumped, Ryuu let out a silent snarl as his magic began pulsing in time with his heartbeat; his scar slowly lighting up the dank and darkened Chamber. And then he was airborne, falling gracefully through the air with the blade of the sword flashing in the golden light that surrounded him. The tips of his toes touched down on the back of the basilisk's head first and he rolled his feet and let his knees absorb the shock as he thrust the sword deep into the snake's left eye socket. His downward momentum lent his strike strength he normally would not have had and the sword slid through the fragile bone surrounding the eye before it pierced the brain and continued on into the right venom sack.

The basilisk was dead; only its body didn't yet know it as it began to thrash around, jerking Ryuu back and forth as he clung to the sword with all of his strength. When the bulk of the snake's carcass slipped into the pool and began sinking, Ryuu pulled the sword free and made a wild leap for the edge of the stone floor to avoid being dragged to a watery grave by the now unmoving beast. He landed hard and he felt his left ankle roll and snap under his weight and fell backwards, ending up in the pool of water anyway. The moment he felt the water close over his head, he gave a mighty kick and grabbed at the stone walkway before pulling himself free of the water as he coughed up the water he'd swallowed.

"You are strong, I will give you that," the now corporeal shade stated as he walked up to stand in front of Ryuu where he knelt on the edge of the pool in pain. "And lucky. Such a shame that such talent will go to waste when you die. If you had not been able to resist the compulsion charms woven into my diary I could have had your strength; your power to fuel my rebirth. I would have even been happy enough to keep your body too; though your features are a little too fine for my taste. Any last words before I send you to your internal rest?"

Ryuu lifted his head, shoved his way to his feet through his pain, and snarled silently at the teen as he gave him a one finger salute. He then twirled the sword in his other hand and thrust the blade through the young Voldemort's chest. The man staggered backwards, almost pulling the sword free from Ryuu's hands as he pulled himself off the sword. A red a gold blur dropped down in front of Ryuu at that point and dropped the black diary on the ground in front of Ryuu. Unsure what the bird was hinting at but willing to trust its instincts since it had helped him during the battle, Ryuu gripped the blood and venom coated sword with both hands and swung downwards, cutting the diary nearly in half diagonally (only the back cover holding the two pieces together); his magic and spirit power curling around him and lending him strength.

Blood and ink exploded out of the destroyed book and rained down on Ryuu and the floor around him as yet more blood and ink seeped from the former diary forming a huge puddle beneath the twelve year old. At the same time the apparition of Voldemort was sliced from shoulder to hip with blinding white light before it suddenly exploded into a dust and light. Shortly after the shade vanished, a villainous black cloud rose up out of the remains of the book and let out a single, high pitched scream before it too exploded; coating Ryuu with gritty black dust that burned as it landed on his skin and wounded back. Exhaustion and pain cut through Ryuu and he fell back onto his knees before dropping backwards onto the mess that had come from the diary. He then forced himself to roll over onto his stomach as his back was throbbing and burning; his vision beginning to go dark.

He felt Tenji's rough tongue brush across his face seconds later and he smiled weakly as he let his eyes drink in the sight of the unharmed kneazle; happy that both of his familiars had survived the battle even if he hadn't. He assumed the light weight settling on his back was Shogun until his owl fluttered down onto the floor in front of him. The feeling of cool liquid dropping on the bleeding wound that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip made Ryuu turn his head so he could peer at whatever was sitting on his back. He was a bit surprised to find the red and gold bird crying tears over him and it made him sad, thinking that the bird was mourning him.

Ryuu was just letting his eyes drift closed when a second explosion rocked the entire castle as Madara finally breached the inner door leading into the Chamber of Secrets. The fighting-mad wolf spirit howled and growled as he bounded through the smoke and rubble only to stumble to a stop at the tableau that was laid out before him.

Ryuu was belly down in a puddle of ink, blood, water, and venom (some of it having poured from the open mouth of the dead basilisk that had slammed down onto the floor before slipping into the stagnant water with the rest of the basilisk); his right hand still clutching the sword with his eyes closed. His two true familiars hovering just in front of his face in concern, while the red and gold bird cried over Ryuu's body. A few feet away from him lay a red-haired girl who looked to be sleeping peacefully. Scattered all through out the chamber were huge chunks of broken statues and streaks of blood. Madara weakly made his way forward on numb legs as he tried not to see what he feared he was seeing.

"_**Natsume-kun!**_" Madara howled as he suddenly bound forward in desperation. "_**You can't die on me now gaki! I just got you housebroken!**_"

Ryuu had just enough energy to open his eyes and meet Madara's panicked filled eyes. _I always knew you cared,_ Ryuu signed weakly as he smiled fondly at the youkai before he reached out to place his left hand on the wolf's nose. Ryuu's fingers left a bloody smear across Madara's snout as his hand then slid limply back to the ground as Ryuu passed into the darkness that had been slowly swallowing him.

Madara's cry of grief and rage echoed through the entire castle but only two people would hear the youkai's heartbroken cry. In the Headmaster's office Takashi Natsume buried his face in his hands, fighting to hold back the tears of grief that filled his eyes as his worst fears came to pass. In the Ravenclaw common room, a blonde haired, blue-eyed first year seemingly burst into tears for no reason as the unseen fairies that surrounded her began to fade out of existence; as if that which had given them life no longer existed.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>Obaasanbaasan – grandmother  
>Okaasankaasan – mother  
>Ojiisanjiisan – grandfather  
>Otousantousan – father

**Notes:**

* Quotes from HP & & Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 16, Page 293, US Edition (paperback)  
>* Quote from HP &amp; &amp; Chamber of Secrets, Chapter 17, Page 317, US Edition (paperback)<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Are those torches I see in the distance? And is that a pitchfork? Hmm, I think I'll find me a rock to hide under for a while until I have time to post the next chapter. Sillyness aside; this chapter represents one of several turning points for Ryuu - his Gryffindor courgage and recklessness finally rearing its head. There will be repercussions and the year is not over yet.  
><em>

_On a side note: some of you might have picked up on the fact that I've left out any mention of Ryuu's parseltongue ability and that is because no one knows he has that ability at this point; simply because Ryuu **can't** speak it. Which is why he'd killed the summoned snake instead of talking it down. That said, I hope I made the action scene down in the chamber different enough to not be boring. I'll try to post the next chapter, which should have the entire conclusion to the second year if I remember rightly, up tomorrow or the next day.  
><em>

_For those of you who are interested... I've just put up the first chapter of a short story I recently wrote for my youngest. It's a rather humorous crossover that's only four chapters long that I wrote last month for my daughter's birthday. I hope to get the rest of it posted before Sunday but I make no promises. ~ Jenn  
><em>

**08-02-12:**__ Chapters 7, 8, & 9 have just been replaced with minor edits and corrections. There were no major changes made to any of the chapters so there really is no need to go back and re-read them unless you wish to. More chapters will be updated when I post chapter 23.__


	23. Facing the Consequences

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 22: Facing the Consequences of Rash Decisions<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland, the Hogwarts  
>Express &amp; Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan<br>May 1993 ~ June 1993_

Ten minutes after Takashi suddenly broke down (for no apparent reason) Fawkes flashed into the Headmaster's office above the desk holding the soiled sorting hat in his beak and clutching the still unconscious form of Ginny Weasley in his talons. The girl's mother let out a strangled cry and gathered her daughter in her arms as the phoenix dropped the hat onto the desk and began singing a song of hope and comfort.

"She's alive, oh thank Merlin, my baby's alive!" the red haired woman wailed in relief while Takashi fought the urge to scream, his grief made all the more painful in the face of the mother's joy.

Unable to stay knowing his son had died saving that couple's child; Takashi rose to leave the office only to stop as the door to the office was flung open with explosive force. Everyone turned to stare at the figure that appeared through the falling dust and smoke as they jumped up onto their feet out of nervousness. Hovering several feet off the ground was the apparently dead body of Ryuu Natsume, blood and who knew what else dripping onto the floor as he floated into the room.

Only Takashi was able to see the grieving wolf spirit that carried his son in his mouth as a wolf of flesh and blood would carry its cub. Takashi stepped forward robotically as his heart broke into a million pieces, his tears finally falling as he took in the battered body of his son. With trembling arms, he reached out and gently took Ryuu from the youkai, his tears falling unheeded down his face as he pressed his face against Ryuu's messy hair and fell to his knees.

"_**I am sorry, Natsume, I was not fast enough. I could not reach him in time,**_" Madara whispered brokenly as his breath stirred Takashi's hair and shirt.

The wolf spirit then curled up and vanished in a puff of smoke, to be replaced with the spirit's earthly form. The pudgy cat then sat back on its haunches and began caterwauling loudly as he poured out his grief; the youkai's song echoing harshly in stark contrast to the soothing beauty of the phoenix's song. Headmaster Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, and Professor Flitwick all bowed their heads in grief over the loss of the child that had touched theirs hearts in the short time he'd been with them. The Weasleys, while overjoyed that their daughter had been returned to them, ached for the loss in silence as they clung to their daughter and each other; both of them acutely aware of how close they'd come to being in Takashi's position.

The image of sheer grief and agony was broken several minutes later when a small fist lashed out and struck Nyanko-sensei between the eyes, abruptly ending the cat's loud cries. Takashi sucked in a deep breath he felt Ryuu stir in his arms and he glanced down in time to see Ryuu tiredly sign; _Tell sensei to shut up, I'm trying to sleep._

"Ryuu-kun!?" Takashi breathed, hardly daring to believe his eyes.

_Tousan?_ Ryuu signed in confusion before his eyes flew open and tried to sit up only to lurch sideways as pain shot through his entire body. Uncaring how much he hurt, the twelve year old desperately repeated the single word, _Tousan! _Tears of disbelief, joy, and despair sprang into Ryuu's eyes and he flung himself onto his father and wept unabashedly, uncaring that the movement sent another wave of searing pain across his back and ribs.

"_Oh thank the gods; I thought I'd lost you,_" Takashi whispered in Japanese as he clung to Ryuu.

"_Baka! Gaki! Dobe!_" Nyanko crowed as he glared at Ryuu while trying to rub his face with his stubby paws, the fact that he spoke shocking everyone in the office but Takashi and Ryuu. "_Ungrateful whelp! Do you have any idea what I went through for you!?_"

"_Shut up, sensei_," Takashi laughed softly through his tears as he pushed the irate cat away from Ryuu. "_You can wait your turn to yell at him until after his mother and I have had ours._"

Ryuu cringed in his father's arms at the promised threat but made no protest as he knew he'd earned the tongue lashing of a lifetime after what he pulled. He then groaned silently as he realized that there would be a huge line of people waiting to add their own two cents about his headlong run into danger. Sagging into his father's arms, Ryuu began trembling as the realization of just how many times he'd come close to dying that night finally sank in. Into the growing chaos, Shogun swept into the room with a loud screech; a bloody sword clutched in his talons and Ryuu's holly wand held tightly in his beak. A few minutes later, Tenji joined the madness, the kneazle dragging the filthy remains of the ruined diary along with him.

Professor Snape, Madam Pomfrey, and Kimura-sensei were in the next group to turn up. Headmaster Dumbledore had sent his patronus to fetch Madam Pomfrey the moment Fawkes had appeared with the young Weasley girl and the two wizards had been investigating the two explosions that had rocked the castle earlier when they ran into the Healer on her way to the Headmaster's office. What they found when they entered the usually tranquil office was pure bedlam; Takashi was alternately chastising and praising his son, the Weasleys were once again loudly crying over their daughter, McGonagall was playing tug of war with a stubborn kneazle over a ruined diary, Dumbledore was trying to coax a sword wielding owl to release its burden, and Flitwick was staring at everything with bemusement.

"What is going on here?" Snape demanded irritably as he stepped over the still cursing Nyanko.

His voice effectively brought order to the room with a few side interesting effects; McGonagall fell head over heels when Tenji unexpectedly released the diary, Flitwick squealed like a girl and fell out of his chair when the Deputy Headmistress knocked his chair over, Dumbledore squawked as the owl dropped just the sword and it pinned his beard to the top of his desk, Mrs. Weasley's cries abruptly cut off as the sorting hat hit her in the face when Dumbledore accidentally batted it off the desk when he'd tried to avoid the falling sword, and Takashi could be heard telling Ryuu that he would be grounded until he was old and grey if he ever pulled another stunt like that again.

"Why is Natsume-kun covered in blood and grime?" Kimura-sensei asked into the sudden near silence.

* * *

><p>It was well over three weeks before Madam Pomfrey would release Ryuu from the Hospital Ward. Ginny Weasley had immediately been transferred to St. Mungo's when it was learned that she'd been possessed by a soul fragment; which Ryuu had revealed about four hours after Madara had carried him up to the Headmaster's office. The youngest Weasley was undergoing an intense mental evaluation and would be in therapy for at least three or four months, if not three or four years. There was a chance that she'd not return to Hogwarts the following year; depending on how mentally stable she was by the time the new school year was due to start.<p>

Ryuu would have been out by the end of that first week if it had just been magical exhaustion, a few bruised ribs, numerous bruises, and his broken ankle that Madam Pomfrey had needed to deal with. Unfortunately, the huge gash that ran from his left shoulder to his right hip complicated matters as the wound had been contaminated with fragments of mold and slim covered stone chips, centuries old dust wrought with germs, bacteria and debris from the stagnant pool, the remains of whatever had been housed inside of the diary, and copious amounts of ink in addition to basilisk venom, saliva, and blood. On top of that, the phoenix tears that had saved his life had also sealed all of the above mentioned contaminants into his body and therefore into his blood stream.

It had taken Madam Pomfrey three days to clear all of the physical impurities out of the wound and Ryuu was left with a scar that was three inches wide where it started at the top of his left shoulder blade and tapered down to a barely visible line at his right hip. The entire thing was stained a pale gray due to the ink that had been sealed into the wound which made the scar stand out starkly against Ryuu's pale skin; looking almost tattoo-like if you didn't take into account the groove that had been left behind when the fang scraped through skin and muscle.

The rest of the time Ryuu spent in the Hospital Wing was fighting off the various bugs, maladies, and infections he picked up from the bacteria and germs that had been sealed into his body. On the plus side (if one could see it as such), now that he'd suffered through nearly every magical illness in existence (not counting the ones he'd been immunized against when he was seven), he was protected against future outbreaks of those same illnesses. Sadly, the entire ordeal had taken its toll on Ryuu's body and he'd lost both weight and muscle tissue due to the diseases ravishing his body. The continued presence of basilisk blood and venom along with the phoenix tears flowing through his veins in conjunction with a large number of small oak splinters (many of which were too small to be noticed by the diagnostic spells Madam Pomfrey used) he'd gotten when his hanbo had shattered had another unexpected side affect; Ryuu's body had become a living focus.

The problem with being a living focus is that you can't set yourself down to avoid accidents and as a result Ryuu's former control over his magic had been reduced to the level an infant might exhibit. That meant that Ryuu would basically be forced to start over from scratch; relearning how to control his magic and the wild magic his body had begun channeling due to his new status. He would also be required to learn a more advanced form of Occlumency in order to help him better manage his emotions because of the damage he could unintentionally do if he lost control. Once he was strong enough, Ryuu would also need to go through an extensive physical therapy in order to regain his range of motion, flexibility, and physical mass.

When his instructors and parents learned the full extent of the damage done (both the immediate injuries and the end results of the numerous illnesses he suffered through) they quietly agreed that Ryuu had been punished enough for his reckless decision to take matters into his own hands and unanimously refrained from scolding the twelve year old any further. That Ryuu had saved the life of little Ginny Weasley, destroyed a deadly and dangerous beast, thwarted Voldemort's near successful resurrection, and basically saved the entire school helped. Madara's wanton destruction of school property was quietly overlooked as no one had seen the wolf (other than Ryuu and Takashi) and no one would believe the pudgy little white, black, and orange cat could have torn a gaping hole in the wall of the second floor girl's bathroom or blasted through a five inch thick steel door as if it was made of cheese.

Ryuu had only been out of the hospital for two days when the entire school (minus those still petrified) got to witness the tormented soul of Myrtle Henderson being put to rest. Ryuu had been picking listlessly at his lunch while he friends carried a strained conversation around him, each them acutely aware of how much Ryuu had changed during his month long sojourn in the infirmary, when Moaning Myrtle (as the ghost had been called for most of the past fifty years) swept into the Great Hall. Many of the first and second years (and a few of the older years as well) screamed at the unexpected and loud arrival of the rather weepy spirit. She'd flown up and down the tables, desperately searching for someone or something until she stopped right in front of Ryuu and demanded in a loud voice;

"It was you, wasn't it? I know it was you; you were the one to slay the monster that killed me."

Ryuu stared up at the young girl with pig tails and glasses and felt compassion for the young spirit fill him as he slowly nodded confirmation. He then tugged on Satoshi's sleeve and asked him to translate for him as he began talking with his hands; _I read about your death when I was still trying to find out what the monster was. I thought it horrible that your sacrifice was forgotten while the person ultimately responsible was rewarded falsely and allowed to go on to murder other innocents. You weren't the only victim of the monster that year but you were the only one whose life was cut short. _

_I am not proud of killing the basilisk. I did not do it for glory or fame but because it needed to be done before it harmed anyone else. The snake, unnatural or not, was just an animal. The true monster was the man that twisted nature into something foul and evil. That is the monster I killed. The murderer behind the beast that did not know right from wrong because it was driven by instincts older than time itself; to eat or be eaten. _

Complete silence filled the Great Hall as Myrtle Henderson smiled for the first time in over fifty years; a true smile of peace and happiness. The childlike ghost then leaned forward, kissed Ryuu on the forehead, and whispered a heartfelt thank you as she began dissolving, her body turning into miniscule motes of golden light that rose languidly up into the air until she vanished completely; Moaning Myrtle's soul had gone home to her well deserved eternal rest. The rest of the Hogwarts' ghosts would not been seen by anyone for the rest of the term; some of them frightened that they too would be forced to move on, some of them filled with remorse that it had not been them moving on, and a few of them both happy and sad that one of their compatriots had found peace at last.

A week later the five students, one ghost, and one half-kneazle that had been petrified by the basilisk were fully restored. Ryuu watched the happy reunions taking place over supper on the night they were finally released from the infirmary with detached disinterest; his thoughts centering on how close he'd come to dying over the past five weeks between the battle and the aftermath. He also couldn't help but think on how close those five students had come close to sharing Myrtle's tragic fate. Feeling restless and trapped suddenly, Ryuu clambered to his feet and left the Great Hall, ignoring the calls of his friends as he headed towards the courtyard.

Once outside, Ryuu crossed the starlit grounds until he reached the tree he'd sat in on the day he'd met Luna at the beginning of the school year. Climbing slowly up into the branches, he settled back amidst the new leaves, and stared up at the stars as he drew out his ocarina and began playing several long, mournful notes that drifted off into the forest on the night wind. He didn't know how long he sat there lost in his thoughts but his entire body was stiff and sore when he finally uncurled enough to climb back down (his body still too weak to handle his usual jump down). He limped his way back to the castle as he continued to let his thoughts scatter in all directions.

Ryuu had barely stepped back inside the castle when he was hit by a spell and flung across the room where he crashed into the wall, back first; his familiars scattering with loud yowls and screeches. Searing pain cut across his back as the force of the impact split the newly healed skin along his scar and he left a smear of blood behind as he slid down the wall and crumpled on the floor at the base of the wall. Coughing up a bit of blood, Ryuu lifted his head and watched a sparkling figure approaching through the cracked lenses in his glasses.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you boy?" Lockhart demanded as Ryuu tilted his head up and tried to focus on the effeminate wizard. "You, young man, have been an irritating thorn in my side since day one. I had the perfect set up here thanks to the deal I made with Lucius Malfoy. He'd arrange for the monster to be unleashed and I'd rush in to save the day; or rather, I'd rush in to claim to have saved the day after the real hero tragically died in an epic battle that would be accredited to yours truly. But no… you had to go and rain on my parade; repeatedly."

Lockhart tangled his fingers in Ryuu's hair and pulled him up painfully before he smacked Ryuu's head against the wall while glaring down at him. Stars exploded in Ryuu's vision and he lifted his arms to slap away Lockhart's hand only for the man to smash his head into the wall a second time.

"You don't seem to understand your position here, boy," Lockhart practically purred as he leaned down and patted Ryuu's cheek with mock tenderness. "You are at my mercy and the best part is that no one will hear you scream; and I didn't even have to waste a spell to make that true. But what to do with you…? You've ruined my planned novel, Basking with Basilisks, and there wasn't even any trace of the beast that I could have retrieved so I could claim you failed and I rushed in to finish it off. It's a real shame you had to sneak off alone during your heroics; I could have followed you and claimed you were the one setting the monster on the school and then claimed to have defeated you. Well, no matter… no matter what tragic story I write using your injuries you won't remember a thing. Say good bye to your memoriiiieeeeesssss!"

Lockhart's final word as he lifted his wand to Obliviate Ryuu turned into a scream as Shogun dropped down out from nowhere and raked the older wizard across the face with his talons before he rose back up out of reach. An angry snarl sounded from around Lockhart's feet as Tenji joined the fray a moment later, the kneazle a whirlwind of slashing claws and teeth as he climbed up one side of Lockhart and down the other. Filch arrived in time to witness Lockhart kicking the kneazle across the room and the caretaker (a lover of cats and kneazles) roared as he charged the out of control wizard.

The poor squib didn't have a chance as Lockhart's Obliviate took the man in the face and threw him across the room; wiping his memory of a large portion of his life in the process. While he was dealing with the caretaker, Ryuu had pushed himself up onto his feet, his anger over Tenji being hurt giving him the strength to stand up despite the pain he was in. Lockhart was more than a little surprised when he turned around to find Ryuu standing up in a defensive stance with both of his wands held firmly in his hands.

"Well maybe I can turn you into a budding dark lord after all, brat," Lockhart murmured. "Either way you won't remember enough to trouble me again. _Obliviate_!"

Like the night when a Voldemort possessed Quirrell had fired the killing curse at Ryuu, time slowed down as the pale blue light of the memory charm sped towards Ryuu in slow motion. Ryuu didn't really understand what was going on with Lockhart; he'd been far out to left field after being blasted into the wall by that first spell and hadn't quite caught up before he'd been given a mild concussion by the man. What he did understand though was that this wizard in front of him was attempting to take away everything that made him who he was and Ryuu _was not_ going to take that sitting down!

Without really knowing what he was doing, Ryuu twirled and flicked his cherry wand to form a protective shield in front of him using the Protego Charm Kimura-sensei had taught him at the beginning of the year for his protection. At the same time he whipped and jabbed his holly wand to fire a binding spell at the supposed professor, the amount of power fueling the spell turning the ropes into chains as they flew through the air. The sheer volume of magic running through Ryuu's veins reacted to the venom, blood, tears, and oak splinters in his body and set his scar pulsing with white-gold light while his spiritual energy coiled around the gold colored shield that solidified in front of him just as Lockhart's spell crashed into the shield, deflecting the charm back onto its caster.

Time sped back up in that instant and Ryuu watched impassively as his chains wrapped around Lockhart with enough forced and speed to snap several bones and throw him across the room just seconds before the deflected memory charm washed over the now defenseless defense instructor. As the now near mindless wizard's body crashed to the floor with a meaty thud, the entrance hall (which had been bathed in shadows during the entire confrontation) was suddenly drenched in blinding light as several professors, who'd heard the commotion while patrolling the hallways, converged on the room.

Ryuu paid no mind to the wands tracking him across the floor as he made his way to where Tenji lay crumpled against the wall; his magic swirling wildly around him like a tornado. When he reached his injured familiar, Ryuu dropped heavily to his knees and gathered the kneazle into his arms as Shogun dropped down from above and landed on his shoulder; the owl completely unaffected by the maelstrom surrounding the emotional young wizard. He then rose to his feet and started heading across the hall, not towards the stairs that would lead him to the infirmary and healing, but towards the door that would lead him out of the castle. When he reached the center of the room, he half turned to look right at Professor Flitwick as he shifted Tenji into his left arm to free up his right hand.

His scar flared bright white once as his rage rose and fell like a tidal wave as he stared at his Head of House and used his right hand to sign; _No more! I'm going home._ He then turned his back on the numerous professors watching him and walked right out the front door. Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Snape bolted out the door after him and stumbled to a stop on the steps leading down to the castle as a white, black, and orange blur rushed towards Ryuu before vanishing in a puff of smoke as a strong wind swept away the magical storm that had surrounded the twelve year old and his familiars. When the smoke cleared and the wind died down there was no sign of Ryuu anywhere on the castle grounds.

Professor Flitwick volunteered himself to check with Ryuu's father and see if he somehow ended up at home while Snape and Dumbledore returned to the entry hall where the other professors were trying to piece together what had happened. Dumbledore spotted Lockhart's wand on the floor near the incapacitated wizard and bent down to retrieve the thin rod hoping it would have some answers. A quick Prior Incantato later and Dumbledore was discharging a miniature maelstrom that looked pitiful in the wake of the one the other staff had witnessed surrounding the young Natsume boy as the Headmaster's temper flared dangerously.

At the former Potter residence in Hogsmeade, Takashi watched with worried eyes as Madara dropped down out of the sky once again carrying Ryuu in his mouth like a wolf cub. The giant wolf spirit gently set the twelve year old on his feet once they were on the ground and Ryuu staggered forward, his body beginning to feel the pain now that he was no longer protected and insulated by magic. Ryuu's eyes were filled with pain and pleading as he stumbled forward as best he could while holding Tenji out towards his father.

Taki appeared in the door behind Takashi and she gasped as she took in Ryuu's appearance before catching sight of the unconscious kneazle in his arms. Rushing forward, Taki dropped down on her knees in front of Ryuu and caught both the injured animal and the boy as Ryuu passed out. Takashi stepped forward and lifted Ryuu up into his arms while Taki cradled Tenji and the two of them hurried into the house with Nyanko-sensei waddling along in their wake and Shogun circling above their heads.

Twenty minutes later (when Flitwick knocked on the door); Takashi opened the door, took one look at the wizard, and slammed the door shut in the wizard's face. He then counted slowly to ten in Japanese, English, Spanish, and French before he opened the door once more to address the somewhat shocked and confused professor.

"You have five minutes to explain to me what happened this time before I pack up my family and return to Japan; permanently."

"That is what we are trying to find out for ourselves," Flitwick honestly replied. "All of the staff have been trying to keep close tabs on your son since he was released from the Hospital Wing and up until this evening everything had been fine. Young Natsume vanished during supper for reasons unknown and by the time he turned up again he was clearly agitated, his familiar injured, and two staff members had been attacked. I'm not accusing your son of wrong doing but he is the only one who can tell us what happened. But most importantly, I simply came to make certain this is where he ended up when he vanished from the grounds about a half an hour ago. I did not wish for more harm to befall the child; he's suffered far too much as it is."

"Thank you for being honest with me," Takashi murmured as he opened the door and finally invited the shorter man into the house. "I apologize for my rudeness but as you can imagine these past few weeks have been… difficult. Nyanko-sensei brought Ryuu home not too long ago; with new injuries and an unconscious and gravely injured familiar. My wife is tending them now."

"I can send Madam Pomfrey to come check him over once I return to the castle, if you wish," Flitwick offered.

"I'll let you know if she is needed or not before you leave. I can not accurately express the frustration, disgust, and sheer fury I am feeling right now; given how many times my son had nearly been killed at that school in the last two years. His decision to hunt down a mythical and highly dangerous creature aside; he's barely survived these past two years and I don't even want to consider what kind of mental trauma all of this has inflicted on him. He'd had emotional issues aplenty without adding in trolls, possessed teachers and students, demonic half-dead shades, out of control youkai, and who knows what else."

"In all my years at Hogwarts, there have only been two other times where such a high volume of danger has visited the castle," Flitwick stated softly as they walked through the small house. "The first time was in the thirties and forties with the rise of the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. The second time was in the sixties and seventies with the rise of the Dark Lord Voldemort. Oddly enough, your son's paternal grandparents were involved in both conflicts and his birth parents in the second right up until their untimely deaths."

"I had hoped he would have more time before he ended up on the front lines of the war that stole his parents from him," Takashi replied softly. "I see the pain in Ryuu's eyes and I can't help but curse your world for everything it has stolen from him, what it has yet to steal from him, and what it promises to give him but holds just out of his reach. I did not have the best of childhoods; but my struggles only made me stronger. And then I see everything my son has been forced to endure and I can't help but wonder how much more he can take before it breaks him. I honestly don't know how he has survived half of what he's been through and how he has not been diagnosed as clinically insane with a side note saying he is a danger to both himself and society."

"You ground him. You are his lightning rod, his night light, and his security blanket," Flitwick stated wisely as he stepped up to an open door and gazed across the room to where his student was tucked lovingly beneath a light blanket, the white bandage wrapped around his head contrasting starkly with the boy's black hair. "He looks up to you and respects you above all others. You give him courage, you make him stop and think, and you allow him to be who he wants to be. If I've learned nothing else about that precious child, I've learned that he loves you; heart and soul. I pity the fool that ever tries to step between the bond he has made with you and your lovely wife; for that man will glimpse hell before he dies slow and painfully. Ryuu will move heaven and earth to protect his familiars… but he will kill without mercy and without regret to protect the two of you."

Flitwick tested Ryuu's two wands for the last ten spells used and aside from the Protego Charm on the cherry wand and the Incarcerous Spell from the holly wand, all of the spells were a series of low level jinxes that Flitwick recalled seeing when Ryuu's wands had been checked after the basilisk incident. The wands indicated that Ryuu only cast two spells since his epic battle; one to protect and one to subdue. Flitwick replaced the wands in their holsters and turned to look down at Ryuu again only to find ageless green eyes watching him intently; the lingering rage and pain clearly visible in their fathomless depths.

_Memory…_ Ryuu signed with one hand once he had Flitwick's attention.

The diminutive charms professor nodded once in understanding and conjured a temporary vial to transport the memory safely to the castle before he placed his wand tip against Ryuu's left temple and pulled out a copy of the memory Ryuu had already prepared; the twelve year old far too used to the process in the minds of both his parents and his instructor.

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><p>When the carriages pulled up to the Hogsmeade Station to deliver the students to the Hogwarts Express so they could be returned to their families for the summer, the first thing they saw was Ryuu Natsume standing alone in the center of the platform, his face turned towards the distant castle. Silence fell over the students as they climbed down and stared at the boy who'd just disappeared one night three weeks earlier; taking in the dark slacks, crisp white dress shirt, black tie, and unfastened black summer cloak that danced around him in the playful summer breeze. Perched on his left shoulder was his owl, its wings spread open for balance as it leaned down to peer at the bandage wrapped bundle cradled in Ryuu's arms. The long charcoal gray tail with the tiny black tuft of fur on the tip poking out from the side of the bandages identified the bundle as the boy's kneazle. Sitting on the ground at the boy's feet was a white, orange, and black cat with intelligent (and calculating) black eyes.<p>

The students boarding the Express gave the silent and oddly still boy a wide birth as he just stood there; few of them even daring to glance his way more than once or twice for fear of drawing his attention. The first to break ranks and approach the unapproachable figure were a pair of ginger haired boys that looked as if they were mirror images. They spent a few minutes speaking too low for anyone else to hear unless they were brave enough to step up next to the trio. When they left a moment later there was no indication that Ryuu had in any way acknowledged the twins or even knew they'd been there.

When the carriage that carried the only six students who could claim friendship with the stoic twelve year old disgorged its passengers, the eldest was forced to restrain the two younger girls as they tried to rush up to greet their much missed friend. A heated discussion took place between the six, with the oldest quickly establishing order as he sent the other five to board the train with their tales tucked between their legs and their eyes full of uncertainty, frustration, and above all; concern. The oldest then approached the boy who'd become an island in a sea of black robes and multicolored heads.

"Ryuu-kun?" Satoshi called gently as he warily approached the younger boy; uncertain what kind of mood he was in and having no idea as to what had happened the night he disappeared or during the weeks afterwards.

_Did you get Professor Flitwick's autograph like you wanted to, Satoshi-kun?_ Ryuu asked with one hand as he finally turned away from the castle and gave his attention to his oldest friend.

"Hai, he was tickled pink when I asked him for it," Satoshi replied with a small grin as the two boys fell into step and headed towards the train, the fat orange cat trotting along beside the younger boy. "Things were too quiet and boring these past few weeks though; especially since most of the end of the year tests were canceled."

_Could have been worse,_ Ryuu pointed out as the climbed aboard the train and Satoshi led the younger boy to where he'd told the others to grab a compartment.

"I doubt it; we weren't even allowed to spar in the dojo," Satoshi muttered as he cast yet another sideways glance in Ryuu's direction.

_You can ask, Satoshi-kun. I won't break and I'm not going to get mad at you. We've been friends for far too long for me to begrudge you the truth,_ Ryuu bluntly stated as they stopped outside of the compartment where the others were waiting.

"What happened? You just up and disappeared and the instructors were tight-lipped about the whole thing. Even Kimura-sensei wouldn't tell us what happened! Lockhart was carted off by Aurors and Filch was taken to the hospital; rumors say there was another attack and that you were either the victim or the attacker. None of the owls would take the letters we wrote to you and you never sent us word to let us know you were okay or not and we had no idea what was going on!"

_Gomen nasai, Satoshi-kun. I did not mean to worry you,_ Ryuu replied as he bowed his head in shame. _I… I was not in a good place. That night when I walked out during supper; everything just hit me and I needed to be alone for a little while. Lockhart attacked me on my way back to the tower. He'd been in on the whole thing; he made some sort of deal with Malfoy's dad so he could get a new book out of the attacks. I don't know exactly what he was going to do to me… but he told me I'd never remember what happened; that he'd wipe my mind clear of everything that made me; me. Tenji and Shogun came to my rescue and the bastard kicked Tenji. _

Ryuu stopped and took a deep breath as he began to show emotions for the first time since the conversation started. Once he was calm again, he continued; _I think Filch turned up at that point because Lockhart attacked turned away from me to attack someone else and it gave me time to climb back to my feet. I'm not really certain though because at the time, I was so angry. Everything around me was fuzzy and muted as if I was cocooned in a bubble and all that existed was my rage and the pain I could feel from Tenji and my own injuries. The next thing I knew I was standing in front of the house in Hogsmeade and okaasan and otousan were standing there waiting for me. _

_They took me to St. Mungo's several hours after that; otousan was too angry about me being attacked by another teacher to take me back to the school to see Madam Pomfrey. They treated my injuries but they really couldn't do much for Tenji. I was still there when they brought in Filch; I'd been seeing a Mind Healer at the time because I was having a hard time separating my pain from Tenji's pan. Filch, he lost more than half his life; he was asking for his wife who'd died more than twenty years ago but he has no memory of her death and he will have to live through that pain all over again. He'll never be allowed to return to Hogwarts; he'll most likely end up in the permanent ward of the hospital because he wasn't able to cope with the knowledge that he was missing so much of his life._

_That was what Lockhart was going to do to me. What he tried to do to me. He was going to make me forget everything; only I somehow managed to turn the spell back on him. I'd just been released when they brought finally Lockhart in; he was a complete mess… aside from the thirty fractures he suffered, he was declared brain dead because of what I did that night. Whatever it was that I did to block his spell that night; it multiplied the magic behind the spell more than ten times the amount that Lockhart had originally used to cast it; the spell wiped out his entire memory. He doesn't even have the capacity to learn everything all over again. He is, as far as the healers are concerns, clinically dead. They will support his body for one year and if he shows no improvements during that time they will simply let him die. _

"Ryuu-kun?"

_I did that to him, Satoshi. Me! _Ryuu cut out in anguish. _What's to stop me from hurting you or one of the others? Nothing! All it will take is someone stupid enough to throw a rock at Tenji or Shogun and I could destroy all of Hogwarts and not even know I'm doing it! _

"Baka, that's why we're here; to keep you from snapping. We're not going to just give up on you because you've hit a little snag. I mean, really, it's not like you're attacking innocent people left and right every time you turn around. The only ones to suffer are the ones that have been trying to harm you or your familiars," Satoshi countered as he dropped his hand on Ryuu's head and leaned close so their foreheads were touching. "I am not afraid of you."

Ryuu sagged into Satoshi as the weight he hadn't even known he was carrying was lifted. They stood there until they felt the floor jerk beneath their feet as the train began moving and Satoshi used Ryuu's slight stumble as an excuse to wrap an arm around his shoulders so he could steer him into the compartment where their friends were waiting. Five pairs of eyes glanced up as they walked in and when Satoshi smiled to indicate that everything was alright, there was a rush of air filling the compartment as all five teens and near teens breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh poo," Luna suddenly exclaimed with a pout into the silence as she caught sight of Satoshi's arm around Ryuu. "You've gone and ravished my Dragon without me, haven't you?"

That single statement broke the tension as Hermione, Neville, Ren, and Kimi burst out laughing while Satoshi and Ryuu sprang apart with matching looks of utmost horror. Ryuu's face turning beet red as he recalled the talk his father had had with him during the winter holidays about the birds and the bees after he'd mentioned his confusion about Luna's constant demands to ravish her. Knowing exactly what that meant now made it ten times more embarrassing whenever Luna brought it up.

The remainder of the trip passed by pleasantly as the seven of them shared their summer plans; all seven of them would be attending the summer session that year, (Luna having been offered the sponsorship by Ryuu just a few days before he'd followed Ginny Weasley down into the Chamber of Secrets). Also joining them that summer would be Fred and George Weasley (sponsored by Kimi and Satoshi) and Colin Creevey (Ren had offered his fellow first year the sponsorship after he'd been told he'd have to repeat the year because he'd missed so much of the school year). Hermione and Neville wouldn't be sponsoring anyone for the summer session but would offer a sponsorship for another student each to come to Hogwarts the following year (as would Ryuu, if he returned to Hogwarts for his third year).

By the time they reached King's Cross, Ryuu had apparently returned to his normal self (even if he still looked terrible); though if you knew where to look you could still see hints of the stress he'd been under for the last half of the year; especially since he'd been injured in the Chamber. It was there in the hidden shadows that flittered in the depths of his emerald eyes, in the tightness of his smile when he was trying too hard not to show his inner turmoil, and in the tenseness of his shoulders as he shifted nervously every once in a while. It was also plain to see the physical suffering that he'd endured as he looked like a ghost of his former self. All six of his friends could see and all six of them did their best to not let on that they knew he was still suffering as they told stories, shared jokes, and played card games.

In order to avoid the crush of young witches and wizards eager to get home and enjoy their summer vacation, the seven friends lingered in their compartment for a few minutes. When they deemed they had waited long enough, they exited the train at a leisurely pace without any of the pushing and shoving that usually occurred. They'd barely stepped down off the train when their small group was accosted by a red-haired juggernaut in the form of Mrs. Molly Weasley who made a bee-line for Ryuu with the intent to hug him within an inch of his life for saving Ginny (something she'd not been able to do sooner because of his injuries). Ryuu, as if he'd sensed her purpose long before she reached him (which he probably had), ducked below her arms and spun around to place Satoshi between himself and the overly emotional woman who was seriously starting to freak him out.

"My apologies, obaasan," Satoshi politely interjected when the red-haired matron became confused over her lack of a target. "Natsume-kun is very shy and he's still recovering from his injuries. Am I correct in presuming you are Fred-kun's and George-kun's mother?"

"Yes, I am. They haven't been causing problems for you have they? And I do hope that dear sweet boy is going to be alright, he is such a brave young man; and so polite. He must be a huge fan of Harry Potter, daringly risking his life for damsels in distress like he did."

Ryuu stiffened when he heard his _other_ name mentioned and if he'd had a voice he'd have growled and snarled at the woman for daring to suggest he was a mindless fan. Nyanko-sensei gave voice to his frustration for him though as the pudgy cat growled and hissed up at the plump woman before he just sat and glared his displeasure. Ryuu probably would have leaned around Satoshi and glared at the woman as well if he hadn't caught sight of his mother's long, strawberry blonde hair at that moment and he felt his worries melt away with the knowledge that his parents were content with him being Natsume Ryuu.

Darting around his friends, who had moved to stand protectively in front of him, Ryuu let a real smile (one completely free of grief, fear, and stress; even if it was a little smaller than normal) spread across his face as he crossed the distance and wrapped one arm around his mother's waist as his other still protectively cradled Tenji. Shogun, disgruntled by all the running and shifting, leapt from Ryuu's shoulder and settled onto Takashi's as the older man ruffled Ryuu's hair with one hand. Their private reunion (even though they'd only been parted for about six hours) was interrupted a few minutes later by the parents and guardians of those children that would be flying out to Japan that evening.

This time it took three taxies to get everyone and their things to the airport; their group having doubled in size. Ryuu had almost thrown a tantrum when he'd been told Tenji needed to travel in his trunk (as usual) in order to pass through customs; the only thing that calmed him down was Nyanko's soft promise to take care of the kneazle during the flight. Takashi silently promised the youkai a feast of his favorite sushi and a bottle of sake in thanks when the minor crisis was averted. There was a minor hitch at security when the twins were found to be carrying their wands in their pockets and it took Takashi a few minutes to sooth things over with security explaining that the 'wands' were Cosplay props for an anime show they were attending later in the summer. The wands were 'confiscated' and packed into Takashi's carrying on bag to insure that the kids wouldn't cause trouble with them during the flight.

Their entire group filled up nearly the entire first class section of the plane, what with there being eleven kids and eight adults making the trip (the parents of all the sponsored children from Hogwarts choosing to spend at least part of the summer with their children with the exception of the Weasleys; even Augusta Longbottom had chosen to spend a month in Japan with her grandson this year). The Creeveys had brought along Colin's younger brother Dennis as well (which was why there was an extra child in their group). Most of the children were excited; that was especially so in the case of the Weasley twins (this being their first time out the country and out of their mother's sight for most of the summer). Ryuu was the only one not really infected with nervous anticipation though he hid his apathy well.

Once the plane had reached cruising altitude; Ryuu dropped his seat back, curled up in his chair with a blanket, and proceeded to sleep for the entire twelve hour flight. His parents took turns sitting beside him all through the flight as they watched over him in case he ended up falling into a nightmare; a common occurrence since he'd battled the basilisk. The one time someone else claimed the seat beside the troubled twelve year old was when Satoshi offered to sit with Ryuu so both of his parents could get to know the parents they'd just met. Upon landing, Ryuu moved like a zombie as he went through the motions of going through customs, collecting his luggage, and tagging along behind his parents as they hailed a trio of taxies to get them to the train station.

He didn't start showing any interest in his surroundings until Takashi allowed him to bring his familiars out of his trunk; a fact that the magical adults in the group noted with a critical eye as Xenophilius Lovegood and Augusta Longbottom both finally took in the obvious injured state of the kneazle Ryuu cradled protectively in his arms. Both witch and wizard had extensive knowledge about familiars and their bonds; Xeno being something of a naturalist and Augusta having once had a familiar who'd perished during the war with Grindelwald in the forties. The two concerned magicals each approached both of Ryuu's parents separately during the train ride to find out of they were aware that a portion of Ryuu's current health issues stemmed directly from the fact that one of his familiars had been injured.

Takashi and Taki impressed the two magicals by stating that not only were they aware of it but that they had spent the previous three weeks seeing to it that Ryuu and his familiar were treated by specialists at St. Mungo's as well as spent numerous sessions with one of their licensed Mind Healers. When asked how they coped with Ryuu being magical when they weren't (given how much of a trouble magnet he appeared to be); Takashi answered it best when he stated that he knew he was going to have his work cut out for him before he adopted his cousin and never once regretted taking him in. Taki spoke of the three years she'd spent getting to know Ryuu, how she'd watched him blossom and grow from a frightened, insecure child into a fine young man who was still trying to find his way. Sure, he still had his moments of insecurity but everyone experiences those from time to time throughout their lifetime.

The welcome home party for everyone was a bit more subdued this year as those who had not seen Ryuu since the previous summer were shocked at the drastic changes in his appearance. Even more so than the bruises he'd come home with the year before; his painfully skinny frame, extremely pale and translucent complexion, dull eyes, and overall fragile appearance told those who hadn't already known that Ryuu had had another rough year. Takahashi-sensei had taken one look at Ryuu and walked out the door without saying a word much to Ryuu's mortification while the other guests all shifted nervously from foot to foot wondering what to say. Touko-san got things moving at that point by bringing out a platter of freshly grilled swordfish and another of eggrolls and deep fried wantons.

Ryuu stayed downstairs with all of their guests just long enough to not be rude before he retreated up to his bedroom with his familiars. When Takashi and Taki checked on him later they found him coiled protectively around Tenji beneath his blankets and Nyanko-sensei perched on the edge of the futon with his eyes fixed upon the sleeping twelve year old while Shogun watched from his perch by the window.

Later that night, while Taki slept fitfully in their bed, Takashi sat at his desk thinking about his son as he idly flipped through his grandmother's journal with one hand; the words of two prophecies dancing on the edges of his thoughts as he struggled to find order amidst the chaos. As the pages softly fluttered back and forth, Takashi suddenly stopped them and stared at the words of the prophecy that Dumbledore have given to him as a single line from Ryuu's letter rose up from the depths of his memories.

_I am tired of being hunted. This time I will be the hunter._

Closing the book, Takashi rose from his seat and made his way to Ryuu's room and stood in the door watching his son sleeping fitfully. After several minutes, he nodded once and retreated back to his room; decision made.

_If it is a hunter you wish to be son, then I will be the torch that lights your way so that you don't get lost in the darkness along the way,_ Takashi silently swore as he slipped into bed beside his wife and sought comfort in her familiar scent as he held her close.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – idiot  
>Dobe – loser, dead last<br>Gaki – brat  
>Obaasan – in this instance I used it as a respectful form of address rather than Satoshi calling Molly his grandmother. Not certain if I used it correctly or not, so if anyone knows a better word to use I'll gladly correct it. I had a cold when I wrote this part of the story had couldn't focus enough to figure out how to look up the proper word when this was all I could find.<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Alright, before anyone flames me for making Ryuu into a living focus… let me say at this point it's only going to cause him more trouble since as was mentioned in the story; his control is shot. So, he's not just going to suddenly turn into some sort of super wizard just because his body can now be compared to a wand. Next; some of you might be wondering why no one has recognized Ryuu as Harry Potter because of his resemblance to James Potter. I've already got that covered and an explanation will be given within the story over the coming summer either in the next chapter or the one after, I can't remember which. So that will be one less mystery._

_I think those were the only two issues I needed to address at this point. On a side note, I have to go back and do a major edit to the story for chapter five since I made a rather annoying error that is going to bug me now that it was pointed out to me by Lucillia (thank you again!). It's not going to affect the overall storyline much despite the fact that I will have to completely rewrite the scene that shows Takashi tracking down Petunia. _

_What was my mistake? I had Takashi using technology in 1987 that didn't exist in 1987 (the laptop, the internet, and email) and that was something I was actually actively trying to avoid. I could just throw the timeline forward ten years and then not worry about it but then I'd feel like I cheated. So, I'll go back and edit out all premature references to laptops in the years before Ryuu gets to Hogwarts. I've already planned on how to fix it and have a tentative outline for it; it will just take me a couple of days to get it written up. _

_Anywho… I think that covers all I need to say at this point. I didn't repost any old chapters at this point because I want to deal with the laptop issue first. I'd also like to thank everyone who has left a review and all of my readers that have placed me and the story on your favorites/alert lists. I'll try to have the next chapter up by Monday because it's feeding time again for the garbage disposals with teeth. They get right snappy if I put them off too long… actually some of them get right snappy no matter what; I've got the photos to prove it too… somewhere. lol ~ Jenn_


	24. Woven Webs of Fate Tied with Prophecy

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 23: Woven Webs of Fate Tied with Prophecy<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>All day Sunday, June 27, 1993<em>

Ryuu was up with the sun, his chest aching and his back stiff and sore from the way he'd slept during the night in addition to the pain that was bleeding over to him through the bond. He spent the first five minutes of conscious thought checking on Tenji and making certain the kneazle was as comfortable as he could be. He then began working through the series of stretches that he'd been taught during his short stay at St. Mungo's to ease the lingering stiffness in his back. Once he was finished, he reluctantly crawled off his bed and gathered up a fresh change of clothes before heading to the bathroom to soak his sore muscles in hot water. He dozed for nearly an hour as the heat soothed the tenderness that lingered along the course of his most recent scar.

He'd emptied the tub, dried off, and put on his pants when he heard a soft knock on the door before his father entered carrying the healing cream that the hospital staff had given him to help reduce the sensitivity of the scar on his back while keeping the skin hydrated so that it didn't crack and tear. Ryuu stood stiffly, his body trembling with suppressed emotions as his father spread the cream along the scar and surrounding skin and gently massaged it in. Ryuu then took a bit of the cream and spread it across the scar along his lower abdomen while his father put some along his forearms.

"How did you sleep?" Takashi asked softly as he watched Ryuu pull on a loose fitting long sleeve shirt.

_Tenji ached all night._

"We've got an appointment to see the animal healer later this week. The wizard is supposed to be an expert on kneazles; he should be able to help Tenji."

_I know._

"Did you have any nightmares last night?"

_Just one… the same one I've been having since… since that night._

"Exactly the same, or has your imagination and fear been fueling them and making them worse again?"

_Not exactly the same but no worse than before. This time it was Shogun who was hurt. _

"I see… are you worried that something will happen to Shogun because Tenji was hurt again?"

_I don't know… maybe… it's more that I'm afraid I'll be too weak to protect them._

"That isn't unexpected give what happened," Takashi gently reminded his son. "I know you have saved them from worse and they in turn have saved you from worse. You have to remember the bond works both ways and the sooner you heal the sooner you can help Tenji heal."

_I'm trying, tousan. It hurts when he hurts though. _

"I know, son. Come on; let's go see if there is any leftover swordfish from last night that we can fix Tenji for breakfast. I'm sure we can dig up a bit of cream for him to go with it as well."

Ryuu nodded and headed back to his bedroom to collect his familiars before meeting his father down in the kitchen where he found Takashi warming up a saucepan of milk and dicing up chunks of cold swordfish. Ryuu transferred Shogun to the perch hanging beside the open window so the owl could hunt if he wished before settling Tenji onto one of the chair cushions. He then washed his hands and took over watching the cream to make certain it didn't scorch while Takashi began adding the swordfish bits into the pan along with a tablespoon of butter.

Takashi then took over the pan again as he grabbed the whisk and gently whipped the mixture, creating a thick sauce while Ryuu got down a pair of bowls and measured out a scoop of dry cat food into each bowl. Takashi poured the sauce over the dry food and set them aside to cool off before he washed and rinsed the few dishes they'd dirtied while Ryuu dried them and put them away. Ryuu then set one bowl down on the floor for Nyanko-sensei before grabbing a pair of chop sticks and sitting on the floor in front of Tenji's chair. The twelve year old then proceeded to hand feed the injured kneazle one bite sized bit at a time drawing a sad smile from Takashi as he watched his son cater to the cat.

The only reason he didn't stop Ryuu from the overboard behavior was because he knew it was his son's way of trying to repay the debt he felt he owed his familiar; the kneazle had been injured protecting him from Lockhart. He also knew it was helping the healing process of both his son and the cat while at the same time strengthening the bond they shared. When Tenji wouldn't eat another bite (his stomach having been bruised when Lockhart kicked him) Ryuu set what was left beside Nyanko's empty bowl which earned him a purr from the overly fat wolf in cat's clothing.

Tenji was then moved to an eastern facing window so the kneazle could rest and bask in the rays of the early morning sun while Ryuu went outside to feed the wild birds and spend a little time bonding with Shogun who sometimes became jealous over the attention Ryuu was giving Tenji. Ryuu was still outside mimicking Shogun's various calls with his ocarina when Luna crept outside to watch him; her usual cloud of fairies noticeably absent as they hadn't been able to pass through the barriers surrounding the house and yard. It wasn't until Luna began giggling over the musical battle between boy and bird that Ryuu realized he had an audience and he blushed bright red before putting away his flute, thinking about slinking off somewhere to hide until he noticed that Luna seemed to grow sad the moment he stopped playing.

Sighing and calling himself ten kinds of fools and a sucker for big blue eyes, Ryuu scattered a handful of birdseed about the yard before he brought the flute back out and turned his back on Luna as he began calling to the wild birds. Shogun retreated into the house, the owl not wanting to get mobbed by the magpies (which were very territorial) like he had a time or two in the past. Luna practically squealed with joy when hundreds of starlings and magpies descended on the yard, many of them even daring to perch on both children as they chittered, chattered, and chirped in response to Ryuu's calls as they scurried after the scattered seeds. Eventually, the seeds were eaten and the birds grew bored with the calls and slowly began to disperse in search of more food as Ryuu trilled out a few last notes before he returned the ocarina to his pocket.

He turned around to head inside and found he had a much larger audience than he'd started with and he blushed again before excusing himself to look in on Tenji. Of the children that were present, only Hermione, Neville, and Satoshi weren't bedazzled by Ryuu's seeming ability to charm the birds out of the very sky; the three of them having witnessed Ryuu do it time and time again. The trick lay in the fact that Ryuu had been feeding the birds for close to five years now and they were so used to his presence they considered him part of the furniture so to speak. It's the same thing you find at fast food restaurants when the wild flocks walk right up to the customers to beg French fries and bits of bread. Satoshi also knew that the real reason Ryuu wanted to learn how to infuse his magic into his music was so he could truly call the birds to him at will, instead of using cheep tricks.

After breakfast, the Creeveys left with Ren and his family while Hermione went with Kimi as the two girls had grown closer during the long year sharing a dorm; Fred and George hadn't wanted to be split up and Kimi's parents hadn't really felt comfortable with the idea of having a pair of boys under the roof all summer so it worked out for the best. Satoshi and the twins would be staying with Ryuu all summer, Satoshi's parents having gone to Australia on a second honeymoon to celebrate Satoshi's completion of all seven years of his magical education. Luna and her father and Neville and his grandmother were also staying at Ryuu's since there was plenty of room for everyone. Luna had also been invited to spend a few nights at Kimi's if she wanted to spend time away from the boys while Hermione and Kimi would visit Ryuu at least once a week outside of school so they could all hang out. Ren and the Creeveys were given the same invitations so they didn't feel left out.

Once the summer living arrangements were settled, Taki took their guests out to do some sight seeing while Takashi walked Ryuu over to the dojo to talk to Takahashi-sensei about his summer lessons and to find out why he'd walked out the night before. That meeting didn't turn out very well at all; Takahashi adamantly refusing to allow Ryuu to continue his aikido lessons. When Takashi asked him why, the older man had given Takashi a cold look and said he would not spend each summer patching the kid up only to send him off to heaven knew where for the rest of the year where Takashi was allowing someone to break him again and again. Ryuu had bowed low and apologized for being weak before he'd walked out without looking back and Takashi only stuck around long enough to cut the instructor down saying he'd just broken Ryuu's spirit more than any of the incidents that were beyond their control.

Takashi caught up to Ryuu a few minutes later as he tried to gauge his son's current mood only to find he was having difficulty reading his son; something that had been happening more and more of late. When they arrived home, Ryuu disappeared with his familiars without saying a word about what had happened at the dojo and Takashi felt an urge to throttle Takahashi; and Takashi wasn't a violent man. Sighing, he trudged up to his bedroom and paused in the doorway as he caught sight of his grandmother's journal sitting on the desk where he'd left it the night before. Walking over to his desk, he palmed the journal and headed back downstairs where he took a seat in the living room and waited.

It wouldn't be until supper time that Ryuu finally resurfaced from wherever he'd been hiding and Takashi suspected that was only because Tenji needed to be fed. All through the meal, Takashi observed his son's body language and he didn't like the tautness he saw because it reminded him of a rope that had been strained to the breaking point. Halfway through the meal, Takashi broke the silence to ask Ryuu a couple of questions that would determine if Ryuu was ready to handle the burden of the prophecy.

"Ryuu-kun, where does your strength lie?"

_My strength? I… I don't understand, tousan,_ Ryuu replied as he crinkled his brow in confusion.

"Let me pose the question a different way; what is strength? What makes a person strong?"

Ryuu frowned and set his chopsticks down as he gave the question serious consideration. When his father asked him those kinds of question he knew he wasn't looking for the obvious answers; the obvious answer was not always the right answer even if it is technically correct. His first thought was to say he wasn't strong but he didn't think his father wanted him to list what he saw as his weaknesses. After a few minutes he tentatively replied, _There is strength in numbers?_

"Give me an example; one you've experienced first hand."

_When… when Quirrell attacked me… I was alone and wasn't able to fight back very well,_ Ryuu began with trembling hands. _But… but when Lockhart… when Lockhart attacked me… Tenji and Shogun were able to distract him and Filch… Filch sacrificed himself… which gave me time to get my wands out. _

"Those are very good examples, if more than a little painful to think about. Is that the only strength you have?"

_Family? And friends?_

"How do those give you strength?"

_They… they support you… believe in you… they stand beside you._

"Any other strengths you can think of?" Takashi asked as he nodded.

_Conviction; belief in your own strength because you are only as strong as you believe you are. And physical strength would be important too; because if your body is weak it will drag you down._

"Those are two more excellent examples. Now, not counting your mother and I, or your grandparents, is there an adult you would trust explicitly? An adult you would go to if you needed help? Or just needed someone to talk to?"

_Tousan?_

"This is important, Ryuu-kun, please answer the question as honestly as you can. Is there an adult you know outside of family that you would trust to help you no matter what kind of trouble you are in?"

_Hatake-sensei… but he wasn't there this year,_ Ryuu finally answered after a few minutes. _I suppose I could trust Kimura-sensei and Flitwick-sensei too… but they are both always busy._

"Why do you trust Hatake-sensei?"

_He knows who I was and doesn't make a big deal out of it, he pushes me to do my best, and he can read me as well as you do; sometimes better when it comes to magical things. I feel safe around him even though I was frightened of him when I first met him. It's the same with Kimura-sensei and Flitwick-sensei for the most part. They always seem to be busy helping other students though and I always feel guilty when I need to ask something from them while Hatake-sensei is… he's… he's what I always imagined an uncle is supposed to be like; warm and caring, stern and strict, funny and fun to hang out with. The last thing I want to do is disappoint him, or you and okaasan, and I'm scared he's going to be angry with me because of what happened last term; like Takahashi-sensei… and that he'll look at me with cold eyes and see nothing but a weak and broken boy._

"Do not be too angry with Takahashi-sensei; he is unaware of the magical world and he knows we are hiding something so he leapt to the obvious conclusion. I think he cared too much and didn't want to see you become a shadow of the boy you used to be. You have changed much over the past two years and it is startling for those who don't see you over the course of the year. For now, please finish your supper. After you finish, I'd like for you to meet me in my office; there are a few things I wish to discuss with you. If he is available, Hatake-sensei might be joining us as I think he will be able to help you in ways that I can't because I lack magic. Doesn't mean I won't be there to help you every step of the way; it just means that I will have to help you in a different way."

_Hai, tousan,_ Ryuu signed before he picked up his chopsticks and tried to finish his supper, hundreds of questions now swirling around in his mind as he wondered what his father could possibly want to talk with him and why he thought Hatake-sensei would be able to help him. He paused with his chopsticks partway to his mouth as a thought occurred to him and he slowly lowered his hand back down to the table as he studied the question from every angle. _Tousan was asking about strength and trust,_ Ryuu thought as he rolled his chopsticks back and forth, not caring that he dropped what he'd been holding in them. _Magic, strength, and trust… _Bringing the empty chopsticks up to his mouth, he chewed on the tips as he followed the threads that connected those three particular words or topics together.

"Don't chew on your chopsticks, Ryuu."

Ryuu dropped his hand in compliance and moved to pick up a piece of chicken only to stop once again as he suddenly knew, _Battle. He thinks I'll end up fighting for my life again. Dumbledore-shishou already admitted as much to me so that means tousan would have been told as well. Four times in two years I have been close to death… five if you count that first time Luna and I nearly stumbled onto the basilisk when it was first released. Voldemort was ultimately responsible for each of the attacks (except for Lockhart's) and Dumbledore firmly believes he's not dead so that means he could try again and most likely will try again. But will it be because of what I've done these past two years or is it because of who I was?_

"Eat, Ryuu-kun. I will answer your questions after supper."

Ryuu nodded absently and began eating mechanically, barely tasting the food that passed through his lips as he tried to approach the problem logically, like he had the monster of Slytherin's Chamber; only to grimace as he realized his research had been shoddy and his plan of attack poorly thought out because he stupidly thought he could do it himself. Actually, that's not true. It wasn't that he thought he could do it himself it was that he was trying to prove his theory and got himself caught because he wasn't careful enough and allowed himself to become trapped.

"Finish up, son, I'm going to go contact your sensei and see if he has an hour or two to spare this evening. And I don't want to find out that you've given any of the food on your plate to Nyanko-sensei. I want you to eat it; you need to regain the weight you lost while you were sick and that won't happen if you skip meals or don't eat enough."

Ryuu nodded again as his father ruffled his hair on the way out of the kitchen. He then glanced down at his plate and noticed that he'd barely eaten a third of what he'd been given and he was already full because of nerves and the fact he hadn't been eating much since the night he'd faced the basilisk. Ryuu then realized that while his father said he couldn't give any to Nyanko-san, he never said he couldn't share with his familiars and he grinned as he picked up a piece of chicken and prepared to pass it to Shogun who was watching him intently. Just before he could pass the bite to the eager owl, his father's voice rang out from the other room.

"Don't even think about it! You need to eat every last bite; not look for ways to get around my rules just because I didn't specifically say not to offer what you don't want to your familiars."

_Chikushou,_ Ryuu cursed silently while Shogun hooted mournfully at the loss of the tasty morsel that had been so close. Ryuu whistled sympathetically to his owl who in turn bobbed his head up and down and clicked his beak in discontent. Ryuu then whistled a few chirrups and chirp to which the owl shook his head no; he wasn't in the mood for starling again. Ryuu nodded slowly and mimicked the frantic chirps of a sparrow only for the owl to shake his head no again before giving off a passably good imitation of a pigeon's coo. Ryuu nodded again and gave off a shrill whistle that started low and rose rapidly in pitch before pointing to the open window; effectively giving the owl permission to hunt. Like a flash, Shogun was out the window; eager to hunt his favorite prey.

Twenty minutes later, Ryuu was still sitting at the kitchen table, his knees pulled up to his chest with his chin propped on top of them and his arms wrapped around his legs. His eyes were firmly focused on his plate which still held about a third of what he was initially given while he tried to ignore the way his stomach felt uncomfortably full. He knew his father wouldn't be angry if he didn't finish the rest of his supper but he really didn't want to disappoint his father again. It was bad enough there was a chance he'd be facing Hatake-sensei's disappointment tonight; he didn't think he could take his father's on top of that. Just the thought of it made his stomach twist painfully.

Unseen by Ryuu, a pair of mismatched eyes watched him from just outside the kitchen door and had been watching him for the past ten minutes. Hatake Kakashi's face was impassive as he watched his student of three years, taking in the obvious physical changes that had been wrought over the year and the not so obvious emotional and mental changes. Without taking his eyes off the twelve year old, the gray haired wizard softly addressed Takashi who was standing off to one side.

"How bad were the kneazle's injuries?"

"Internal bleeding, cracked rips, and bruised stomach. The wizard kicked him in the stomach, catching the lower ribs, while wearing thick leather boots with pointed toes and heels. The man had stumbled before he kicked him and Tenji had been very close otherwise I think he'd have ruptured the kneazle's stomach; which would have meant a slow and painful death for the cat."

"And your son's? Those from his fight with the basilisk and those he acquired during the attack?

"His injuries from his fight were minimal; broken left ankle, large gash running from shoulder to hip on his back, bruised ribs, quite a bit of bruising, and a serious case of physical and magical exhaustion. The problem was that the gash on his back was made by one of the basilisk's fangs; meaning the snake's venom and saliva was introduced to his system. During the rest of the battle he managed to expose the open wound to stone fragments, dust and dirt, mildew, blood, stagnant water, and ink. Not to mention all of the germs and bacteria he picked up along the way. The biggest problem though was also what saved his life; Dumbledore-sama's phoenix cried healing tears on Ryuu's back to fight the venom which sealed everything up inside of him where it had twenty-four hour to propagate and fester before they realized what was wrong."

"Over the course of three weeks (after spending three days in magical surgery to remove the debris) he suffered through close to thirty-eight different illnesses and diseases; and he didn't experience them one after another, it was more like one on top of another and a few of them were diseases that hadn't been seen in the magical world since the fifteen hundreds. His blood now contains the cells necessary to create vaccines to three magical diseases that have a fatality rate of ninety-two percent or higher and four more with a fatality rate of seventy-nine percent of higher."

"So… basically you're saying he's a walking goldmine and a medical researcher's wet dream?"

"Not quite… more like fools gold, and yes; if words spreads about this they'd turn him into a lab rat faster than you could say dango. The problem is that his blood is lethal; the basilisk's venom and blood are still active in his blood stream as are the phoenix tears. His toxicity levels are through the roof and the fact that he is even alive is nothing short of a miracle. And that isn't even including the other side effects."

"What other side effects?"

"You remember the new hanbo you got him last Christmas after he broke his old one fighting the troll? Nice, sturdy, fire-hardened oak? It was shattered into millions of shards and splinters; I'm certain you can guess where a good number of those splinters ended up, ne? Tell me… what do the words living focus mean to you?"

"Explosive," Hatake deadpanned as he finally looked away from Ryuu. "And the injuries from Lockhart's attack?"

"Fractured ribs, severe bruising on his back, the skin along the scar on his back was split open, he had a mild concussion, and severe magical overload followed immediately by severe magical and physical exhaustion; on top of his already weakened state due to the illnesses he suffered through. He had lost close to half his body weight and mass during the three weeks he was sick. The worst of the damage done was mentally and emotionally; he walked out of the castle right after the attack and after Taki and I nursed him and Tenji through the night he spent the rest of the term in St. Mungo's under the care of numerous specialists. We also had him seeing a Mind Healer. He's better now… but as you can see he still has a long ways to go."

"What exactly is it you want from me, Natsume-san?"

"You have had a huge impact on my son in the past three years you have been his sensei. He looks up to you and respects you for not only your knowledge and abilities but for the consideration and support you have given him from the moment you walked into his life. But most important of all, my son trusts you. He also trusts Kimura-sensei and Flitwick-sensei but feels that they have too many other obligations and I don't think he is as comfortable with them as he is with you. Before today, I would have added one more name to that list, Takahashi-sensei. Sadly, the man turned his back on Ryuu today; kicking him out of the dojo. I don't blame him but I know it hurt Ryuu deeply because he'd been working with the man for close to five years now; three and four times week year round for the first two years."

"You're afraid he's going to break."

"No… I fear he is already broken and the cracks just haven't begun to show yet," Takashi countered grimly as he passed Hatake a folded piece of parchment. "This is the letter my son left behind when he went looking for the person responsible for the attacks; it was written either days or weeks in advance."

Hatake took a moment to unfold the letter and read through what was written there, his eyebrows disappearing into his hairline long before he reached the end.

"How many twelve year olds do you know that would go to such lengths and not draw attention to themselves by the various changes in their behavior? The research was extensive, something I would expect from a person who spent years doing nothing but research; not a twelve year old with a full schedule of both magical and non-magical classes. He even figured out how to bait his trap to catch the person responsible and he was successful in a way as he found them and ended the threat; but he paid a heavy price."

"I'm going to ask you again, what is it you want from me, Natsume-san?"

"I need your help putting my son back together and giving him a purpose before I lose him completely. Imagine, for just one minute, please; an insanely powerful wizard with the power to control over two thousand demons. Now imagine that wizard is driven insane because the wizarding world broke him and believe me the magical world is breaking him; if you don't believe me take another look at my son sitting there in that kitchen and tell me he is the same boy he was a year ago or two years ago. Now imagine that wizard turning on the wizarding world; who is going to stop him when they wouldn't even be able to see the demons he unleashes on them? You've seen what he can do now… Hell, what he did a year ago. He has twice survived an unstoppable death curse and walked away virtually unscathed if you don't count the mental trauma. Imagine how much worse it would be in another year… in another ten years… when he's gained complete control of his magic."

"Are you honestly telling me you believe your son is going dark?"

"No… I'm telling you that my son has the potential to go dark. And before you walk away and call me insane… consider this. I'm a psychologist. I work with troubled men, women, and children of all ages, day in and day out. I've studied countless sociopaths and psychopaths for over eight years; I'm well aware of what to look for when judging a person's mental health and stability. I've studied myths, legends, folklore, fairy tails, and histories of a dozen different cultures and researched the various religions. I have studied the cases of documented fanatics, prophets, doomsayers, and miracle workers. I even began expanding my research into the magical side of things when I first learned of it nearly six years ago now."

"Okay… let's say, for one minute, I believe you. What makes you so certain that he could be the one to destroy the world? That he would be unstoppable?" Hatake shot back as he crossed his arms and half glared at Takashi.

"Prophecy… two prophecies to be specific. Both have been proven authentic and half of both have already come true. One was given either by or to my grandmother over fifty years ago. The other one was given some time before Ryuu was born and was witnessed by Albus Dumbledore."

"You know both prophecies?" Hatake asked lowly as he dropped his arms and frowned as he glanced back towards Ryuu where he was still curled up in the chair staring at his plate.

"Yes."

"What makes you think I can help?"

"Tell me, what are the first two words you think of when someone says the word magic?"

"Chaos and change."

"And based on that, what conclusion would you draw from the line; let not the sons and daughters of chaos and change lead the dark child astray?"

"The magical world will try to lead whoever the dark child is off the path he was meant to follow."

"Yeah… that's pretty much what I got while I was researching the prophecies. Now… keep that in mind and tell me what the line 'and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives' brings to mind?"

"Immortality… but that seems a little misleading. It almost sounds more philosophical in nature, live meaning having a full life as opposed to just breathing. It leads one to believe that who ever these two people are they are the only ones that can kill each other and until one or the other wins, they will both suffer. But it still implies that the one that lives can't be defeated because they must die at the hands of the other."

"Quite the quandary, isn't it?" Takashi asked rhetorically.

"How do you know I'm not the one that will lead him astray; providing that Natsume-kun really is the dark child referred to in the first line?"

"I don't. I'm taking a calculated risk based upon what I know of my son, what I know of you, and what I learned tonight about how my son sees you. He told me, and I quote, 'He knows who I was and doesn't make a big deal out of it, he pushes me to do my best, and he can read me as well as you do; sometimes better when it comes to magical things. I feel safe around him even though I was frightened of him when I first met him.' He also said, 'Hatake-sensei is what I always imagined an uncle is supposed to be like; warm and caring, stern and strict, funny and fun to hang out with.' And finally, he admitted that, 'The last thing I want to do is disappoint him and I'm scared he's going to be angry with me because of what happened last term; like Takahashi-sensei and that he'll look at me with cold eyes and see nothing but a weak and broken boy.' Then there the fact that out of all his instructors he could have mentioned in what was for all intents and purposes a suicide note (and if going after a sixty foot basilisk alone isn't suicide then I don't know what is) he chose to single out you… he knew what he was doing would disappoint you."

"You're asking an awful lot from me."

"Am I? Am I really? All I'm asking is for you to help me save one child. Is it too much to ask for help putting him back together before he is completely lost? How much is the magical world demanding of him? How long did Yamamoto-sama and Dumbledore-sama argue back and forth just for the right to stake a claim on my son?"

"So, we're back to square one… If I am to help… what do you want from me?"

"Why don't you start with a wizard's oath… a simple one just stating that you swear not to reveal what you learn about the prophecies to anyone without mine or Ryuu's permission (unless they already know), reveal Ryuu's former identity for personal gain, and won't willingly or knowingly bring harm to my son. I can leave the final wording up to you so it won't interfere with any other oaths or obligations you have."

"And after that?"

"We're going to sit down and discuss the second prophecy with Ryuu and work on putting him back together one piece at a time. Returning him to a semblance of health would be a good place to start."

"Why tell him the prophecy now? Why not wait until he is older?"

"How old? When's he's seventeen? Twenty-five? The day before he is expected to face his opponent? No… better to tell him now when he's already faced his adversary twice and is questioning everything. To hide something of this magnitude from him will only make him doubt our word in the future and make him grow to mistrust us. No, my son is far too intelligent and observant enough that he'd figure it out on his own given enough time. Honesty is the best policy."

"Point. Do you have a pen and paper I could use to hash out an oath?"

"Yes, my office is just through the door on the left at the end of the hall. It's the only room with the light on. Pens are in the top left hand drawer and you can pull the paper from the paper tray on the printer. While you are doing that, I'm going to speak to my son."

"Sugoi," Hatake muttered in a slightly sarcastic tone as he glanced at Ryuu one last time before heading off in the direction indicated.

Takashi sighed and wiped away the sweat that had been beading on his face; it had taken much more than he thought it would to convince Hatake to help him. He only prayed it would be worth the hassle when everything went to hell in a hand basket. Glancing once more at the retreating back of the wizard who would soon hold the life of his son in his hands, Takashi swallowed thickly and pushed aside his fear and doubts as he walked into the kitchen. He stepped up behind Ryuu's chair, taking care to make some noise so as to not completely startle the twelve year old.

"Ryuu?"

_I can't._

"Can't what?" Takashi asked softly as he reached out and brushed his fingers through Ryuu's wild hair.

_Can't finish. It hurts. _

"Did you try mediating like the healers suggested?"

_Yes. I tried thinking of other things, of my favorite foods, of how it feels when I'm hungry; nothing works. _

"And we've tried having you both eat at the same time, eating at separate times, eating only when the other is hungry, and a hundred and one other tricks. I know, Ryuu, I know. You did make a little progress tonight, you ate more tonight than you did at any one meal in the last week. Maybe being home for a couple of days will help."

_Gomen, tousan._

"You don't have to apologize for doing your best. Did you send Shogun hunting?"

_Hai, he'll be gone for at least an hour; he's hunting pigeon._

"Pigeon? Well, I'm certain there are plenty of them to spare around town. Go ahead and put your leftovers away, we can give them to Nyanko-sensei in the morning. Hatake-sensei is waiting for us in my office so try not to dawdle."

Ryuu looked up at Takashi with those tormented green eyes and he felt another crack race through his heart knowing his son seemed to be sliding endlessly backwards even as he struggled with all his might to move forward. Kneeling down beside Ryuu's chair, Takashi took his son's chin in his hand and calmly met his gaze.

"You have nothing to be afraid of; Hatake-sensei is not going to abandon you or send you away. He is here to help us. More importantly he is here to help you and I will be right there with you."

Ryuu nodded slowly and Takashi leaned forward and kissed his brow before ruffling Ryuu's hair and climbing back up to his feet. He lingered in the kitchen just long enough to watch Ryuu start cleaning up as he had been asked before he headed towards his office where he found Hatake sitting in his chair with his feet propped on top of the desk reading a book with a bright orange cover. As he entered the room, the wizard pointed at a folded sheet of paper sitting in the center of the desk without looking up from the book as he turned the page.

Takashi picked up the paper and read through the oath, studying the nuances of the wording and checking for loop holes. He was impressed though when he found it far more airtight than the one he'd suggested. In fact, he thought it might be a little much considering what was at stake and he opened his mouth to say as much when a timid knock sounded from the direction of the door. Turning, he saw his son hovering just outside the room with his eyes glued to the floor in front of him as he waited for permission to enter, Tenji cradled in one arm. A glance at the older wizard revealed the man sitting professionally in the chair and the book no where in sight as he watched Ryuu with his mismatched eyes.

"Step inside, Natsume-kun, and close the door behind you."

The twelve year old complied without lifting his eyes from the floor, his body language completely submissive as he slowed to a stop just a few steps away from the door. Takashi once again opened his mouth to question the necessity of the oath the wizard had written on it only to jump a bit when he felt the paper whisked out of his hands. It was at that moment that he realized this meeting was no longer in his control; the moment the wizard had agreed to help his son he'd handed over leadership to the wizard in question and he once again prayed he'd made the right choice as he silently took a seat in the only other chair in the room. Sitting back, Takashi watched the scene unfolding between his son and what he hoped was his son's salvation.

"Natsume-kun, your posture is deplorable; eyes forward, chin up, and shoulders back," Hatake ordered after a couple of minutes had passed in complete silence. Ryuu's compliance was immediate and Takashi suspected it was an order Hatake had given his son frequently through the years. "Better. Do you know why you are here?"

_Hai, tousan said he wished to speak to me._

"And do you know why I am here?"

_Tousan thought you might be able to help me._

"Wrong," Hatake countered and Takashi frowned as he tried to figure out what the wizard was playing at. Shifting slightly in his seat, Takashi noted the new tension in his son's shoulders and the way his body had turned just a bit so that his left foot resting on the ball of the foot instead of his heel and he knew Ryuu was preparing to bolt. Hatake knew it too as the man leaned forward and pinned Ryuu with a raptor's gaze as he continued; "I am here because _you_ thought I could help. You could have named any one of a dozen instructors from two magical institutions and you asked for me specifically. Am I wrong?"

_No, sensei._

Takashi nearly smiled as the wizard turned the situation completely around on Ryuu and put him at ease while also keeping him slightly off balance and uncertain; forcing the preteen to think rationally instead of react emotionally. Nodding to himself, Takashi was growing more and more certain that he'd made the right choice; only time would tell for certain though.

"Good. Always be honest with yourself; because if you can't trust yourself then there is no point in trusting someone else. Now pay attention. I have one thing I need to say and I am only going to say it once, understand?"

_Hai, sensei._

Hatake nodded at the prompt response and rose to his feet as he pulled out his wand. Both adults noticed Ryuu take an involuntary step backwards as his posture immediately became defensive, his arms now wrapped protectively around Tenji with his body angled so that his body was mostly between Hatake and the kneazle.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, swear on my life and magic, that I will not willingly physically, mentally, or emotionally attack Natsume Ryuu or his familiars with the intent to harm nor will I seek personal or political gain by bartering any personal or confidential knowledge of Natsume Ryuu's past, present, or future that I have been entrusted with. On my magic and my life, I do so swear."

_So mote it be,_ Ryuu finished automatically as he stared wide eyed at his sensei as a thread of silver magic leapt from the tip of Hatake-sensei's wand and swirled around the older wizard before a gold thread of Ryuu's magic joined it to seal the oath. The magic faded away a moment later and Ryuu felt the weight of the oath settle around him as he furrowed his brow and demanded; _Why?_

"Tell me, Natsume-kun, what were you thinking when I first pulled my wand? And remember, honesty above all else."

_I… I was afraid._

"Of what?"

_That… that you… you would attack Tenji._

"So you shielded him with your body. Now, you've stated that you trust me. You've told your father that you trust me. You admitted that you want me to help. Why would you think I would attack your familiar? Think about all the possibilities and remember to be honest."

_Because I'm afraid of being attack by another instructor,_ Ryuu slowly replied as he tilted his head to the side in his thinking pose. _I have been attacked by two wizards that were supposed to protect the students and a part of me can't forget that. Lockhart tried to harm my familiars more than once and he hurt Tenji and part of the fear I felt was Tenji's fear of pain from adult wizards. He doesn't recognize the distinction between one teacher and another or even between one man and another because pain and fear are all he knows right now._

"Very good… you even took the time to consider your connection to your familiar; which is as it should be because they are both a part of you just as you are a part of them," Hatake praised as he tapped his wand on his thigh a couple of times before he whipped it up and pointed it right at Ryuu's forehead. "What do you feel now?"

_Nothing really, other than being curious as to why you are pointing your wand at me. Is that because of the oath?_

"Correct. Your magic recognizes that I will not harm you or your familiar and there was no echo of fear from Tenji because on an instinctive level he is aware of the change as well; he draws from your magic and your emotions. As does Shogun and to a degree Nyanko; though the bond you share with your father's cat is bazaar and atypical of the familiar bond as it seems it only goes one way. I've seen you get defensive about your owl and your kneazle but never over the cat. At the same time he has an almost fanatical urge to protect you."

"I believe I can answer that," Takashi interjected. "Nyanko-sensei is… I guess you could call him my bodyguard and as such he is under contract to protect me. Ryuu-kun is my son and above all else I desire for him to be safe and that desire has been transferred to Nyanko because it is what I desire."

"If that is true it would certainly explain why the cat is affected by the bond to the degree he is. Of course, it doesn't explain why the familiar bond formed in the first place as it sounds like he might have behaved that way even without it."

_He's family,_ Ryuu simply stated as he sat down on the floor and cradled Tenji in his lap.

"No one said you could sit down, Natsume-kun," Hatake reminded the twelve year old, expecting him to jump back up onto his feet like he normally would.

_My back started to ache; Tenji is heavy and there's no place for me to set him in here except my lap because you and otousan have the only chairs. The healers told me I am not to ignore the pain I recognized as my own because it would make Tenji's injuries worse while at the same time I need to separate and ignore the pain I feel from Tenji's wounds because it only hurts me more._

"Stand up, I'll conjure you a chair; sitting on the floor is only going to make it worse in the long run," Hatake ordered as he gave his wand a wave to conjure the promised chair. He waited for Ryuu to get comfortable before he turned and arched an eyebrow at Takashi.

Takashi nodded and climbed to his feet so he could get his grandmother's journal out of the fanny pack where he kept his half of the Yujincho. Thinking of the Book of Friends, he briefly wondered where Ryuu was keeping his half, if it was safe, and he made a mental note to bring it up later. Journal in hand, Takashi shifted his chair so he could see both his son and Hatake before he sat back down. Taking a deep breath, Takashi locked eyes with his son and dove headfirst into a conversation he wished was never needed.

"Why are you famous in the wizarding world, Ryuu? Why is Harry Potter hailed a hero?"

Ryuu cringed a bit even as he sighed; he'd half expected this to come up since he'd concluded that his father wished to discuss all the trouble he'd gotten into at Hogwarts the last two years. Shaking his head to dispel the idle wish that Harry Potter had never existed (or at least had ceased to exist the moment Natsume Ryuu had been born); Ryuu replied with heavy hands, _I am famous because I didn't die and something that happened that night did something to Voldemort to make him lose power and disappear. Most of the world believes him dead. _

_I… I'm going to end up fighting him again, aren't I? That's what you want to talk to me about. Dumbledore-shishou already told me there was a chance he'd try to come after me again and I've already faced some part of him twice. He's a shade and has the power to posses almost anyone; meaning I could face another attack at any time no matter where I am. But why? Does he somehow know who I am? Is it because I just got lucky in first year? Why did he come after me and my birth parents in the first place?_

"I see what you meant now, Natsume-san," Hatake murmured with a wry smile. "He connected just a small handful of pieces he'd picked up in the past two years and strung them together to almost form the complete picture; he's just missing the few pieces that will give it clarity."

"Hai, he has a gift for deduction," Takashi agreed with a trace of pride giving his words warmth before he turned serious as he glanced down at the journal in his hands. "What we are about to discuss does not leave this room, Ryuu-kun. It is not to be passed on to your friends or spoken of to anyone outside of myself and Hatake-sensei. The exception would be Dumbledore-sama but I'd prefer you not discuss it with him unless Hatake or myself are present. Not because I think he would harm you but because I sometimes think he only sees the big picture instead of all the pieces that make up the picture and that is how people get hurt."

"Hold that thought a moment, let me seal and ward the room against eavesdroppers," Hatake instructed as he took his wand back out. A moment later the walls, floor, and sealing glowed a soft blue for a moment as the ward snapped into place. "Go ahead; no one will disturb us now."

"Arigatou," Takashi murmured before he picked up where he left off. "You asked if you were going to end up fighting him again and the answer is yes. How many times? I don't know but I do know that you will face him again and again until one of you dies. You also asked why. Why you always seemed to end up facing him in some form and why he attacked your family when you were just a baby. The answer is…" Takashi trailed off as he glanced down at the journal in his hands again, his heart aching even more now that this moment had finally arrived; a moment he'd known would come since the day Dumbledore had turned up outside of his hotel room shortly after Takashi had taken Ryuu away from the Dursleys.

Running a hand over his face, Takashi pushed away the urge to tell Ryuu that it was all a mistake and everything would be alright before sending him off to play. Taking a deep breath to center his emotions, Takashi pushed on before he gave into the urge to protect his son, "Before you were born, at a time when the war against Voldemort was on the verge of being lost, there was a prophecy given; stating that the one… the only one… that could defeat the dark lord would soon be born."

_Prophesy?_ Ryuu signed as he tilted his head to one side and furrowed his brow. _Before I was even born? The only reason I exist is to fight him? That's it?_

"No," Takashi vehemently countered as he reached out and placed his hand on Ryuu's cheek. "You exist because your mother and father loved each other very much and you were the product of their love. You exist because they wanted you… just because you are destined to a fate far greater than your parents ever imagined does not mean that that fate is the only thing you exist for. If you ask me, you exist because you were meant to bring joy and purpose to my life."

_Arigatou, tousan._

"No… thank you, son," Takashi countered as he smiled down at Ryuu and brushed away the tear that had slipped from the corner of Ryuu's eye with his thumb. "Do you think you are up to hearing more about the prophecy? Or would you like some time to think about it before we continue?"

_I… I'd rather hear it now… otherwise it'll bother me. _

"I understand. As I said, this prophecy was given shortly before you were born. Dumbledore-sama witnessed the prophecy being given and he immediately began looking for the child of prophecy so he could protect him. There were two boys that met the conditions set forth in the prophecy; you were one of them. I don't know who the other child was, Dumbledore-sama never told me and I did not ask. Voldemort learned of the prophecy and he too sought to find the child of prophecy; he wanted to kill you before you grew up to be a threat to his power. One of your father's friends betrayed your family to Voldemort when the Dark Lord made it known that he was hunting for you specifically. He attacked your family, murdering both of your parents before he turned his wand on you and when you didn't die you were hailed a hero because Voldemort vanished."

Ryuu's eyes became glazed as he stared at something only he could see, one hand gently stroking Tenji's forehead while his other played with the kneazle's tufted tail-tip. Takashi and Hatake both watched him, waiting for some clue as to how he was taking that information and what conclusions he might draw from it. After a few minutes, his hands finally stilled and his eyes came into focus as he glanced at his sensei before meeting his father's concerned brown eyes.

_Someone told Voldemort the prophecy… Either Dumbledore did or someone else heard it at the same time. Or Dumbledore warned the families and they told their friends and family and the one who betrayed them passed it on to Voldemort. And because of that he killed my parents. Because he feared what I would become he killed my parents and tried to kill me. Does he somehow know that it was me? Is that why he took me at the end of first year? Because he knew I was the one that defeated him the night he killed my parents?_

"I don't think he knew that Natsume Ryuu and Potter Hari were one and the same in your first year. I think he was just curious to know what made you strong enough to kill his troll and after seeing you seal the poltergeist he was even more interested in finding out what made you tick," Hatake-sensei countered. "I think he would have said something when the two of you were alone that night if he knew. Now, that's not to say he isn't aware of it now; after all only one child had ever survived his killing curse and when you deflected the one he used that night he most likely would have put two and two together and realized that Dumbledore and your father were hiding who you are."

Ryuu nodded in understanding as his eyes became troubled as he once more focused inwards.

"Ryuu-kun?" Takashi called softly when Ryuu didn't say anything for several more minutes.

_How? How am I supposed to fight him when I am weak? _Ryuu demanded as his green eyes filled with despair. _I was lucky the troll didn't squash me like a bug, it was pure luck that something shielded me the night he attacked me at the end of that year, it was only chance that I didn't walk right into the basilisk on Halloween night last year, and I was stupidly arrogant in thinking I could hunt the person responsible for the attacks last year and look how that ended? I can't even protect my familiars from a teacher who had more talent using hair care products than he was in using magic! I… I don't want to die._

"You are not weak; you have lost physical strength because of your injuries and the magical maladies you suffered through and you have begun to doubt what you once knew you were capable of because of those injuries… but you are not alone. Never alone; never again," Takashi firmly reminded Ryuu. "No one wants to die… unless their pain is so great they just want to escape because they can think of nothing else."

"And while luck may have played a large part in your surviving these past two years, it was not luck alone. You fought against a troll and won because you used your head and didn't give up. You may not have done much to fight against Quirrell at the end of your first year but you didn't just give up and let him kill you either; you fought back the only way you could at the time. You fought to stay alive by doing your best not to let him hit you. You are not afraid to stand and fight when you have a fighting chance and you are not afraid to run and hide when you know you don't. The battle you fought against the basilisk was proof of that."

"What do you think it would take to make you stronger, Natsume-kun?" Hatake asked before Ryuu had a chance to start listing everything that had gone wrong during the fight with the magical snake.

_Knowledge… and… and physical training to make my body stronger. _

"Are you willing to work for both of those? Are you willing to push yourself? Can you accept the pain and frustration you will face in order to surpass your current abilities?"

Ryuu's eyes dropped down to take in the bandaged wrapped kneazle on his lap for a moment. When he looked back up his eyes were cold and sharp with determination as he met his teacher's mismatched gaze and signed out a single word; _yes._

"Good answer," Hatake replied as he grinned.

They spent another hour discussing the prophecy after that, including the exact wording and the various possible interpretations that could apply. At the end of the meeting, Hatake-sensei made Ryuu take off his shirt so he could see for himself the current state of his healing injuries. The wizard then gently chastised Ryuu about being ashamed of his scars, telling him that they were proof that he faced overwhelming odds and not only lived to tell about it but won.

That wasn't to say he should be eager to go out and acquire more scars but he should at least acknowledge the sacrifice that they represented and learn from the mistakes and events that had led to their creation. To that end, Hatake told him he was to spend an hour each morning doing his katas in front of a pair of mirrors while shirtless (so he could see all of his scars); until he learned to accept the scars were a part of him.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Chikushou – damn<br>Gomen – I'm sorry (informal)  
>Hai – yes<br>Okaasan/kaasan – mother  
>Otousantousan – father  
>Sugoi – wonderful<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _A bit of a tedious chapter but one necessary for the plot. Next chapter will cover the rest of the summer.  
><em>

_One of my reviewers asked a question that I wanted to answer here in order to share the answer with everyone; that reviewer asked why Ryuu hadn't broken the silencing spell on his vocal cords. The answer is that Ryuu is comfortable. He has no desire to speak because he doesn't see the need; he can speak with his hands and the written word. Yes, he is willing to make some noise now (music and whistles) but he doesn't consider that a form of speaking. ~ Jenn  
><em>

**08-07-12:**_ Chapters 5, 6, 7, & 9 were all edited and revised in order to remove all references to laptops, e-mails, and the internet. I did, however, leave in the other computer related references because they were not out of place in the timeline. You won't have to go back and read those chapters unless you wish to as the basic plot/story didn't change much. All I did was change the methods that Takashi used to find the Dursleys and made him work a little harder to find the right family. Chapters 10, 11, & 12 have been cleaned up as well and will be reposted when I upload the next chapter._


	25. The Forging of a New Weapon

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 24: The Forging of a New Weapon<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan &  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu<br>June 1993 ~ August 1993_

The changes in Ryuu's attitude after the meeting with his father and his sensei were immediately obvious to the rest of his family, his friends, and their guests. Gone were most of the haunted shadows that had filled his eyes since the night he'd faced Quirrell and Voldemort and gone too was the insecurity and self disgust that had plagued him since his fight with the basilisk and the subsequent attack by Lockhart. There was a subtle hardness about him now, a determined air laced with the stubbornness that had marked much of his early years; though instead of hiding away from the world as he had back then he now faced the world head on.

That didn't mean he didn't have moments when his new found determination and courage floundered in the face of his inner doubts or when the pain became too much to bear. Yet he did not give up or give in during those moments and he always bounced back stronger and more determined than ever. Hatake and his father both pushed him while at the same time they allowed him to lean on them when he needed their strength to keep him strong. His mother and grandmother soothed his hurts and encouraged him with kind words; their support unconditional and unquestioning, even if they weren't quite certain what had brought about the changes.

Most of his friends also didn't question Ryuu's new outlook on life; they were just happy to have their friend back. Satoshi was the only exception as he could see the subtle differences between Ryuu now and Ryuu before his first two years at Hogwarts. Satoshi also didn't miss the fact that Hatake-sensei was suddenly spending an awful lot of time over at the Natsume home and at least half of that time was spent with Ryuu. He didn't immediately confront Ryuu about the sudden changes, he didn't want to accidentally drive Ryuu back to the ghost of himself he'd been since he'd been released from the infirmary after he fought the basilisk but he did keep an eye on the younger boy that had become something of a little brother to him over the years.

That first week back in Japan saw Ryuu taking his final set of exams so he could pass out of junior high; two full years earlier than the rest of his age group and a full year earlier than he would have if he'd gone through school normally. That was despite the fact that he was only doing his non-magical courses in his spare time. If he managed to work his way through his high school courses in the same fashion he'd be finished with his basic education by the time he was fifteen and could either jump right into the university courses or take a couple of years off to figure out what he wanted to do with his life while he finished his magical education.

The appointment with the animal healer saw a vast improvement in Tenji's recovery from his lingering injuries. The healer had given both Tenji and Ryuu a specially made potion that targeted the digestive system in kneazles; Ryuu's actually being nothing more than a placebo intended to allow Ryuu to believe that by taking it he was helping his familiar which in turn allowed his magic to speed up the healing process through the familiar bond he shared with the kneazle. It was a convoluted way to help both wizard and familiar while working within the limits of the bond; something very few healers could do successfully because most bonded pairs refuse to allow healers to study their bonds.

Shogun had been treated to a complete check-up at the same time; at Ryuu's insistence because he didn't want to take any chances with either of his familiars. The healer gladly complied and gave the owl a clean bill of health ten minutes later along with a series of vaccinations for some of the more common avian diseases and viruses after he learned that Ryuu allowed him to hunt wild birds as a source of food. That one visit did much to improve Ryuu's outlook on life as Tenji's slow recovery had been weighing most heavily on his mind.

After the familiars had been taken care of as far as their health was concerned, it was Ryuu's turn to see a healer so his own progress could be gauged. Because the details of exactly how he was injured were virtually a secret, Hatake-sensei brought Healer Inoue from the academy with him for the purpose of monitoring Ryuu's recovery. The healer had been appalled by the physical changes in Ryuu since he'd last seen the boy and he'd naturally been upset when he learned how he'd been injured along with the complications incurred by the blessing and the curse of a phoenix healing the original wound with its tears in order to save Ryuu from the basilisk's venom.

The most shocking and troubling discovery occurred when Healer Inoue checked Ryuu's magical core index out of habit; something that had not been done since Ryuu's first summer session. The last time he'd registered as a level ninety, his index growing approximately one full level a year since he'd been removed from the Dursleys (bar that first year away when his core had jumped four levels in one year as it returned to its original level plus one). It was expected that it would have continued to grow over the past three years since most children gained between three and five index levels during their educational years until their core reached magical maturation. The results they got were completely unexpected.

Normally when the spell is cast, a single number is registered within a minute of the spell being cast and it will either appear in the air over the person being tested or on a specially charmed parchment with a linking charm to keep the results a little more private. Because they were in the privacy of Takashi's home office at the time, Healer Inoue had allowed the results of the test to be displayed magically.

The number ninety-seven had been displayed briefly before it began rising until it hit ninety-nine and then the number reset itself and started at the number one and continued rising until it once again reached ninety-nine a second and reset itself to start again. That pattern continued until Healer Inoue canceled the spell. He recast the spell ten different times and had Hatake-sensei cast the spell three more times; each time ending up with the same results.

The only logical answer for the results that they were getting was that the magical compounds in Ryuu's blood that had turned him into what amounted as a living focus were somehow resonating with his magical core; reflecting and magnifying his magic in an endless loop with the supposition that Ryuu was actually around a level ninety-seven; the number that always appeared first when they tested him.

It was enough to give all three adults pause. And Ryuu wasn't stupid; he new exactly what the adults weren't saying and why they were so concerned over the results. He well remembered what Kimura-sensei had told him back when he'd just been a level ninety wizard. He also remembered what he'd told Satoshi when they boarded the Hogwarts Express at the end of the year; his greatest fear was losing control for even a single instant and destroying everyone and everything around him.

In the end, it was a sobering revelation and it reinforced both Takashi's and Hatake-sensei's determination to keep Ryuu firmly grounded and as sane as possible. That Ryuu was fully aware of what that information represented meant that he gave them his complete cooperation; something that would have been lacking if either adult had been keeping secrets from him (something Hatake would have taken for granted prior to the night he learned about the prophecies). Ryuu's incalculable index also meant that he was forbidden from using either of his wands until he could once more control his magic and his emotions; something he'd been having trouble with since he'd fought the basilisk.

Hatake, Healer Inoue, and Takashi also decided that only two individuals would be made aware of the latest development with Ryuu's index levels; Headmaster Yamamoto and Headmaster Dumbledore. Kimura-sensei, Flitwick-sensei, and Madam Pomfrey would eventually be informed as well but not until they gave an oath swearing them to secrecy over the information; Kimura because he was the one training Ryuu and therefore at risk should Ryuu lose control during their lesson, Flitwick because he was Ryuu's Head of House at Hogwarts and needed to know the risk should something happen to Ryuu, and Madam Pomfrey because she would need to be aware of the risks when treating Ryuu for future injuries and illnesses.

Dumbledore offered an alternative to each individual swearing an oath regarding the information about Ryuu's index level, his current status as a living focus, and the lethality of his blood. He suggested that the information be hidden using the Fidelius Charm, the Secret Keeper being someone Ryuu trusted explicitly or Ryuu himself. It was no surprise to Takashi when Ryuu asked Hatake-sensei if he would be the secret keeper; the wizard had sworn an oath and Ryuu had absolutely no doubts when it came to trusting the man now.

The only reason he hadn't asked Takashi was because his father did not have the magic necessary for the spell to lock the secret within his soul. It was also telling that Ryuu didn't choose himself as the Secret Keeper, revealing that on some level Ryuu didn't trust himself; something that made Takashi's earlier concerns about Ryuu already being broken not seem quite so far fetched as they had when he'd first told Hatake about those same concerns.

On the day the children left for Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu for the start of the summer session, Ryuu was taken aside by Hatake and informed that there had been a couple of changes made to his schedule. The first change was that Ryuu had been pulled from his Monday and Wednesday hapkido lessons and would in their place be taking intermediate ju jitsu all four days with Hatake from now on. The other change was that he'd be turning an additional two hours every morning, to allow him to meet with Kimura-sensei for an hour and a half in order to help him regain the control he'd lost. His afternoon sessions with Kimura-sensei would then be spent focusing on the Mind Arts; specifically focusing on Occlumency, mediation, and emotional control.

The last change was that Dobby would be providing him with a strict diet intended to help him regain the muscle tissue he lost due to the illnesses that ravished his body. To help with that, he'd been prescribed a series of nutritional potions to be taken before each meal and a strengthening solution which he was to take before going to bed each night. Hatake had then presented Ryuu with a new hanbo; this one with a reinforced steel core that would hopefully allow it to survive an entire year (unlike his previous two hanbo). He'd also been offered a new bokken at the same time but Ryuu had refused; his feeling of betrayal from Takahashi-sensei still too fresh for him to even consider continuing with the wooden sword at the moment.

Ryuu had been exempted from mentoring a group of first years this year due to the concern that the added stress of dealing with the responsibility would have a negative affect on the still recovering teen. Hermione had actually volunteered to take over the responsibility of making certain Luna settled into her classes during that first week; the young Gryffindor thriving under the additional responsibility. The two girls weren't exactly close friends because they each saw the world differently; Hermione being a very logic oriented person while Luna had one foot outside of reality. They did more than just tolerate each other though as they made an effort to be friendly with one another out of their mutual friendship and respect for Ryuu. It helped that Luna provided a sense of levity when tensions ran high, her unique outlook and perceptiveness allowing her to know just what to say to make everyone laugh.

In the hierarchy of their group, Satoshi was their motivation, Kimi was the voice of reason, Hermione provided order and organization, Neville was a natural sounding board and an excellent listener, Ren played devil's advocate, Luna provided laughter and made them think outside the box, and Ryuu was the glue that bound them together; he was their leader even if it was an unacknowledged leadership. Colin and the twins hadn't yet found their place in the group, though that didn't mean they were left out because they were not. All ten of them were intelligent, each of them having different strengths and weaknesses that balanced each other out and they did not hesitate to help one another.

All together they were a force to be reckoned with and it showed both inside and outside of classes. People stood up and took notice of them, even when they weren't trying to be the center of attention. Ryuu especially drew attention, this year more than ever before because of the physical and emotional changes he'd undergone since the previous summer. Where before he'd often sought to hide in the shadows and clung to his solitude as if his very life depended on it (even after befriending Satoshi and the others) he now walked confidently in full view of the entire school's population and basked in the presence of his small group of friends. He even began participating during classes more than he had in the past, no longer waiting for the instructors to call on him specifically when it came to asking or answering questions.

Oh that's not to say he didn't struggle at times, especially when it came to trusting the staff members aside from Hatake, Kimura, and Healer Inoue. Even the instructors he'd known for the last three years were viewed with more than a little distrust and trepidation. None of the adults took it personally though and all of them were saddened to see his wariness to trust further hindered by the actions of two wizards. (The news that he'd been attacked by teachers during his two years at Hogwarts common knowledge due to the numerous newspaper articles and the reports from the staff that spent the year at Hogwarts had given to Yamamoto regarding what had happened.)

That distrust was transferred to his two familiars through the bonds and any adult pointing a wand in the direction of Ryuu or his familiars were given only one warning hiss from both bird and kneazle before they would be attacked (something that saw the pair banned from any class that involved active spell casting). The familiars also became very standoffish when it came to being handled by anyone that was not Ryuu, Ryuu's family, Hatake-sensei, or Satoshi. They tolerated the attention of Ryuu's other friends but only in the presence of one of the others and only so long as there was nothing threatening Ryuu.

Ryuu, for the most part, was fully aware of everything that was going on around him and with him. Hatake expected and demanded him to retain awareness no matter what he was doing, where he was, or who he was with. He also accepted nothing less than complete honesty and obedience from the young wizard. In return, the older wizard taught him basic survival, helped him train and condition his body, and gave him direction and advice when he needed it. Just four weeks into the summer, Ryuu started referring to the wizard as Hatake-oji or just oji when they were outside of school; a reflection of the trust and respect he held for the man.

Ryuu's academic schedule that summer was busier then ever. Mondays through Thursdays, he was up by five-thirty every morning and spent an hour and half in the dojo training, rested for half an hour and then turned back two hours to spend an hour and a half relearning to control his magic. He'd then have another half hour to clean up and get ready for classes before heading to breakfast. After breakfast he would attend Master's Level Calligraphy and Advanced Cultural Studies, which were an hour each followed by an hour long study period. He would then turn back another two hours to attend Master's Level Latin followed by another hour of study before heading to lunch.

Right after lunch he would meet back with Kimura-sensei to practice his meditation, work on his Occlumency, and go through several mental exercises that were designed to help him keep control of his emotions during times of extreme stress. After that he attended Advanced Spell Casting, spent another hour studying, and sat through Master's Level Music before turning back a final two hours to gain another hour of study time and attend Intermediate Runes before eating supper.

After supper he would finish any assignments that were due the next day and music practice with various members of the Advanced Music class including Satoshi and Kimi who had not yet met the requirements to join him in the Master's class (Satoshi needing to master one more instrument and Kimi not really interested in the Master's class). Before bed he spent a half an hour stretching before spending another half an hour meditating in the common room before he turned back six hours and went to bed.

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays were mostly devoted to his high school studies. He'd still be up by five-thirty and spend an hour going through the exercises that Hatake had given him to help him extend his range of motion, regain his flexibility, and rebuild the muscle he'd lost. After that he'd shower and have breakfast before spending the morning doing various assignments that Taki assigned to him. After lunch on Fridays and Saturdays he'd spend two hours doing aikido under the watchful eye of Satoshi who needed the teaching experience to get his instructor's license so he could eventually take over the summer aikido lessons at the academy from Hatake-sensei.

After he finished his training on Fridays and Saturdays, Ryuu would take another quick shower before hitting the books once again until supper time. Then the rest of the evening was spent practicing his music, doing his evening exercises, and meditating before going to bed. On Sundays, his afternoons were spent hanging out with his friends and family; either taking their guests sightseeing or just hanging out about town before they headed back to school for the next week.

About two weeks into the summer classes, when Ryuu had finally begun to accept his scars as something other than failure and weakness, Hatake had him start doing his weekend aikido lesson with Satoshi shirtless; in order to get him used to other people seeing his scars. That was considerably harder for Ryuu to actually do and it brought a lot of his insecurities back as he did not like other people looking or worse staring at his scars. It was for that very reason that Hatake wanted him to do it though; to break him of that discomfort that could distract him at a crucial moment should he somehow end up without a shirt during a fight. It was a matter of removing a potential handicap and only that knowledge gave Ryuu the strength to actually go through with the order.

The fact that it was Satoshi helped a little too; as the older boy already knew about the scars and had seen the ones he'd received from the attack by Quirrell. The first time the teen saw Ryuu's back though he'd faltered a bit and grown extremely pale. Sure, Ryuu had told him that he'd fought a giant snake; but to actually see the evidence that the monstrous creature had been large enough to swallow a grown man whole hit Satoshi hard as he finally realized just how close Ryuu had come close to dying. That was the first time Satoshi called Ryuu otouto before immediately making the younger boy promise to never again run off to fight deadly monsters alone.

Neville would be the second one to see the scar on Ryuu's back. It happened after Ryuu had become less self-conscious about the scar and grown used to Satoshi seeing it during their aikido sessions. Since Ryuu still shared a dorm with Neville at school and shared his room with the boy at home (Ryuu had grown used to not sleeping alone after virtually living in the same room with five boys for the last two years) when he stopped being quite so careful about when and where he changed. Neville had walked into their shared dorm and stopped cold because Ryuu had just taken off his shirt; his gasp alerting Ryuu to his presence and after an awkward couple of days the two of them talked about the scar.

It wasn't until Luna saw the scar that Ryuu really stopped worrying about other people seeing it though. She'd come skipping into the dojo where Ryuu and Satoshi were training one afternoon to tell him that his father needed to speak to him. She'd taken one look at the scar, burst into tears, and wrapped her arms around his waist; all the while muttering under her breath about her brave Dragon risking his life for everyone else. She went on to verbally thank him over and over again for saving her life the day they met when the two of them had nearly walked right into the basilisk. She'd then kissed his cheek and vanished without another word. Ryuu had walked around with a near permanent blush for the rest of that weekend.

By the time summer was half over, all of his friends had seen him without a shirt at one time or another. The true test of how much his view of the scars had changed over the course of those first five weeks of summer came when they once again celebrated Ryuu and Neville's birthday at Yomiuri Land. Unlike the previous year, when he'd worn a long sleeved white shirt the entire time (even when they'd played in the water park portion of the amusement park); Ryuu wore a short sleeved shirt and went shirtless on the water rides. He garnered more attention than he ever wanted that day but he managed to survive the entire day without dying of embarrassment or cowering beneath the onslaught of stares. The only person Ryuu absolutely refused to allow to see his scars was Touko and that was because he didn't want her to cry for him; something Takashi understood completely.

He hadn't wanted Taki to see them either but given how close of a relationship the two of them shared as mother and son meant that it was inevitable that she would walk in on him shirtless. She had cried a bit the first time she saw the one on his back and hugged him tightly for nearly ten minutes straight before she sternly told him he was under orders to be more careful in the future. (That had been shortly after Lockhart's attack toward the end of the Hogwarts term.)

When the children returned to the academy on the first of August, they'd barely stepped out of the portal when Hatake and Kimura appeared beside them and told Ryuu he was to immediately report to the Headmaster's office. Hatake had then stepped through the portal to get Takashi while Kimura apparated Ryuu up to the school's entrance to save time. When they reached Yamamoto's office, Ryuu immediately knew that something had happened because waiting with the headmaster was Albus Dumbledore, Flitwick-sensei, a weary old wizard wearing rather shabby robes, and an overly scarred man with an obviously magical artificial eye that gave Ryuu the creeps. Shogun actually hissed threateningly the moment that electric blue magical eye focused on Ryuu, the owl's wings opening in preparation of launching an attack. Tenji just growled low in warning and flicked his tail at the owl which brought the owl up short before it shifted on Ryuu's shoulder so that its back was facing the strange wizard.

Ryuu's reaction to his familiars' antics was to place as much space between himself and the stranger as the room allowed and to leave an avenue of escape open. A fact that actually brought a smile to the grizzled wizard's face; and it was not a pretty smile by any means due the man's scarred visage. Ten minutes after Ryuu entered the office, Hatake and his father joined them; both men wearing serious expressions. Headmaster Yamamoto then cast two separate privacy wards which were followed by the scarred man casting a third. Ryuu had shifted into a defensive stance the moment the scarred wizard had drawn his wand, one hand out in front of him and the other resting on the shaft of his hanbo.

"Relax, Natsume-kun," Hatake instructed as he stepped up behind Ryuu and dropped a hand on his shoulder. "No one in this room will harm you."

Ryuu nodded once and dropped his arms but remained on high alert as he studied the two strangers. Yamamoto then asked everyone to be seated as he conjured extra chairs; the adults immediately taking a seat while Ryuu remained standing at attention. Yamamoto had raised an eyebrow at the subtle declaration that he wasn't comfortable enough to relax in the presence of the two strangers but said nothing as he gestured to Dumbledore to speak.

"I am afraid that I am not here to pay a social call or to check on young Mr. Natsume's current condition; though I am pleased to see he is in much better health than he was when term ended in June. I am here because of a recent incident that could potentially place Mr. Natsume at risk due to who he is."

"Before you say another word, Dumbledore-sama, what guarantee will you provide my son that those you brought with you can be trusted with the information it sounds like you want to provide them?" Takashi demanded as his gaze shifted to the two as of yet unidentified wizards. "I know why Flitwick-san has been trusted with that information and to date he has not abused mine or my son's trust. But you've not even introduced the other two with you."

"Do you not trust my judgment, Mr. Natsume?" Dumbledore asked in a voice that sounded slightly hurt and a little offended.

"No. I don't. Not when it comes to matters concerning my son and any sensitive information that could place him in more danger than he's already in. Don't forget, Dumbledore, two of your 'trusted' staff members have already attacked my son."

"I see," Dumbledore replied, his voice now sad and tired. "The gentleman on my left is retired Auror Alastor Moody an old friend of mine and the gentleman on my right is Remus Lupin who was recently hired as this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts class professor. Moody, Remus; this is Takashi Natsume and his son, Ryuu. What would it take for you to allow me to speak freely in front of them, Mr. Natsume?"

"A wizard's oath," Hatake interjected as he pulled out a folded piece of paper that Takashi recognized and passed it over to Dumbledore. "That oath, specifically… as is with no changes other than each wizard replacing my name with their own."

"Is that really necessary?" Dumbledore protested as his eyes widened after reading the deceptively simple oath.

"Absolutely. You saw how Natsume-kun reacted when Moody-san drew his wand a few minutes ago. While I have been working on breaking him of his almost instinctual defensiveness he's developed since the most recent attack he is far from trusting of unfamiliar wizards and just barely tolerant of those he's known for years outside of those in this room."

"I can't possibly see what kind of information would require an oath such as this but I am willing to take it since Professor Dumbledore seems to think it important that I interact with the young man," Remus announced in a tired voice due the proximity of the full moon currently sapping his strength (not that anyone but Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Moody were aware of that fact just yet).

"I don't like it… sounds like the kid is as paranoid as I am and that can only mean trouble because he's too young to need reflexes like that. Of course, the fact that he does means he'll probably live far longer than most brats his age. Let's just get this over with Albus, I have better things to do," Moody grumbled as his magical eye focused on the paper in Dumbledore's hand. "I, Alastor Moody, swear on my life and magic, that I will not willingly physically, mentally, or emotionally attack Natsume Ryuu or his familiars with the intent to harm nor will I seek personal or political gain by bartering any personal or confidential knowledge of Natsume Ryuu's past, present, or future that I have been entrusted with. On my magic and my life, I do so swear."

Ryuu stared at the man for ten full seconds before he signed, _so mote it be_, sealing the oath. Shogun actually let out a series of complaining hoots and hisses before he jumped from Ryuu's shoulder and landed on Takashi's. Ryuu rolled his eyes at the owl's antics as he felt the oath settle around him much as Hatake's had at the beginning of the summer. To his surprise, after Mr. Lupin had given his oath (and Ryuu had accepted it) Flitwick and Kimura both also gave the same oath.

Ryuu had then bowed respectfully to the two wizards that he'd already trusted and respected; his appreciation of their gesture apparent in his body language to those that knew him. Feeling a little drained from having four oaths tied to him in such a short amount of time, Ryuu finally sat down in the chair that had been provided for him and he promptly folded his legs and moved Tenji down into his lap so he could pet the kneazle as he settled back into the chair and watched the other occupants.

"A little overboard but what is done is done," Dumbledore groused a bit, his pride and ego more than a little injured that Takashi (and apparently Ryuu) thought the oaths necessary. "I am here because sometime around midnight on July thirtieth, Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban Prison."

Takashi's head whipped around to stare at Dumbledore with an unreadable expression while Ryuu went completely still, his face and eyes (and therefore his emotions) hidden by his messy hair. Silence filled the office as all eyes drifted to Ryuu; Remus and Moody both confused as to why the others were watching the boy so intently and a little curious as to what kind of reaction they expected the news about Black to draw from the boy. When he finally looked up, Ryuu's eyes were brimming with a torrent of emotions; fear, fury, frustration, determination, and resignation.

_He will come for me,_ Ryuu signed, his words a statement that hung in the air and not a question.

"He will try," Dumbledore replied as he got the general gist of what Ryuu had said with his limited (but growing) understanding of sign language. "He will not know who you are but he will know that you are supposed to be at the school and according to the prison guards; Black had been obsessing about Hogwarts for at least a week before he escaped."

"What kind of security measures are being put into place around the school to keep him out?" Takashi asked softly.

"Mr. Lupin was a friend of Black's when they were in Hogwarts and therefore can offer some insight into what he is likely to do. Alastor has agreed to come out of retirement to fill the roll of caretaker for the school for the year as well as assist Mr. Lupin with the Defense classes when he is indisposed because of health reasons. The Ministry, against my advice, has also decided to post dementors around the school and in Hogsmeade. For the protection of all the students I have refused to allow them on the actual grounds but they will be roaming the Forbidden Forest and will be stationed outside of the school's gates. They will also be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade during the evenings while Aurors will patrol the village during the day."

"Your Ministry is barbaric for allowing those monsters anywhere near the children," Yamamoto growled. "Bad enough they keep them as prison wardens."

"I can not disagree with you and at the same time I can not make Cornelius see reason," Dumbledore replied. "The Minister saw fit to warn the muggle Prime Minister that Black has escaped and can be considered armed and dangerous. I myself will announce the news to the I.C.W. at tomorrow's emergency meeting in the event he flees Britain at any point. To further protect your son, I will be banning him from visiting Hogsmeade for the year; with your permission."

_No!_ Ryuu protested as he jumped to his feet with his eyes blazing. _I have been looking forward to visiting the village this year because it will mean that I can spend far more time with my parents. I will not allow you to take that away from me. I will not allow fear to keep me from my family._

"I agree with my son," Takashi replied simply. "I understand what you are trying to do but making my son a prisoner in the castle is not going to solve the problem. It would be a simple matter to ensure he is escorted when he is not in the castle and that he does not wander alone through the village; day or night."

"If you are willing to take that risk, it is your choice," Dumbledore intoned, sounding as if he was severely disappointed that they were going against his wishes.

_If you think the risk is that great…_ Ryuu started as he raised his chin just a bit and met Dumbledore's blue eyes with hard green eyes, his scar glowing softly as his anger pulled on the wild magic flowing through him. _I can simply withdraw from Hogwarts entirely. I would regret leaving my friends but I will not regret never stepping foot in the castle where I was nearly killed or as good as killed by two teachers; a castle where Voldemort's shade has twice possessed people who moved freely about the castle. _

"Wait a minute… you said nothing about Voldemort when you approached me about taking the Defense job," Remus interjected, startling Ryuu who hadn't known the man knew sign language (though he'd suspected the man named Moody did because as an Auror he would have needed a method of communicating silently in dire situations). "You still haven't explained why you seem to think this young man is at risk. I could understand if we were having this conversation with Harry and his guardians due to Black's relationship with James's son."

Ryuu stiffened as his head snapped around to look at his father, who was currently glaring at Lupin. Ryuu's eyes narrowed as he tilted his head to the side as he shifted his eyes back to Lupin who was looking at his father in confusion while everyone else in the room kept glancing between all three of them. When Lupin glanced back at Ryuu, Ryuu asked, _Who is Sirius Black to me?_ His eyes flicked to his father who suddenly looked tired before looking back to Lupin again and adding, _What could that man possibly be to me to make me so damn important to him aside from the fact that he betrayed my parents?_

"Your parents named him your godfather, Ryuu-kun," Takashi answered before a shell shocked Remus Lupin could fully comprehend what he'd just been told in a convoluted, round about way. "I did not tell you before now because I did not think it that important because the man was securely locked away in prison. If he had not betrayed your parents and murdered many innocent people you would have gone to live with him when your parents died."

"Harry!?" Remus choked out as he rose from his chair. "How…? Why…?"

Ryuu shook his head even as his hands flew up to correct the man, _I am Natsume Ryuu. I will forever be Natsume Ryuu. Harry Potter died before I turned seven. He died when tousan saved me from the demons because Harry Potter was too weak and I refused to stay weak. I may have been born to James and Lily Potter but Natsume Takashi is my father and Natsume Taki is my mother._

"Harry… Ryuu… was it really so bad that you would forsake the one thing your parents gave you?"

_They brought me into this world, they gave me life,_ Ryuu countered; his eyes filled with compassion and determination. _Otousan bought me out of my nightmare and gave me hope. I was reborn and I will never forget my other parents but I will not live in a past that filled my dreams with countless nightmares for years._

"I… I am sorry you feel that way but I can understand. I will stand by my oath and respect your choices. I was not as close to your parents at the time of their death as I was when we were in school together but I loved them both, and you after you were born, very much. Of all the reasons I imagined as to why you might be targeted by Black I never would have guessed it was because you were hiding your identity. Though, now that I know I can see your resemblance to James and Lily; how is it that no one else has figured it out?"

"I would guess accidental magic," Kimura replied. "Based upon his last known magical index rating and the extreme lengths to which his magic goes to protect him when he is emotionally stressed; it wouldn't surprise me if he's unconsciously woven a type of illusion or protection ward over himself so that only those who are specifically told can actually see what no one else sees."

"What was his index at when previously checked? I know he was born with an index of eighty-seven; James had been so proud when it was announced by the mid-wife. He said, and I quote, 'That's my boy! Not even a minute old and he's already surpassing his old man.' James had an index of eighty-five when we finished Hogwarts."

"Natsume Ryuu's magical index rating as of June of ninety-three, was ninety-seven," Hatake replied as the only one present that was able to answer the question due to the Fidelius Dumbledore had cast back in June (using the base number that was always presented first and leaving out the fact that Ryuu's index was technically incalculable).

"I believe we've gotten off topic far enough," Moody suddenly stated with a growl. "We were discussing the boy's safety during the upcoming year. His index level isn't important; neither is his name. What's important is how good is he at following the rules, is he capable of _constant vigilance_, and does he know how to use that fancy twig he's carrying on his back? And why in hell's bells is he not carrying a real wand!? Training wands won't do you any good when you're faced with certain death."

_I fought and killed a mountain troll on Halloween night in my first year at Hogwarts with a training wand and a 'twig', _Ryuu declared without a trace of pride; it was a fact, nothing more. He then added, _Last year I fought and killed a sixty foot basilisk with the help of my owl, another 'twig', and a sword because my wand was useless against its thick scales. The two times I faced Voldemort's shade I defeated him without a wand. A wand is a tool… just as my hanbo is a tool. Relying upon a tool creates a crutch that will kill you when it becomes useless and you have nothing else with which to defend your life._

"Well said, brat," Moody rasped with another of his creepy grins. "However, even as a tool it doesn't do you any good when you don't have it on you. You should never go anywhere without your wand."

"Natsume-kun had his permission to carry his wands withdrawn when his previous control over his magic was lost after extenuating circumstances that occurred during his fight against the basilisk," Kimura stated. "Would you hand a sword or a knife to a five year old that has never been taught to handle a weapon? Would you set a keg of gunpowder or a can of gasoline beside an open fire? No… to do so in either case would be to invite injury or worse death. Once he has regained a measure of control he will be allowed to carry them once more."

"Two wands? Interesting and unexpected," Moody muttered. "So he's been taught physical self defense, he knows some magical defense, and he's a lucky little snot. I'd say he has potential. I look forward to having an opportunity to viewing his memories of the battles he's mentioned he's fought. It should be entertaining to say the least."

_My misery is not for your entertainment,_ Ryuu signed before he sat back down in his chair and lifted Tenji back up off the floor; the kneazle more than a little disgruntled at having been dumped onto the floor in the first place.

"We're getting off track again," Flitwick pointed out when it looked like Moody was going to say something witty in reply to Ryuu's declaration.

"You've stated that Lupin-san will be trying to anticipate Black's actions, Moody-san will be free to move about the castle as an added measure of protection, the Ministry has sent some sort of guards to watch over the school and the village, and Aurors will be patrolling the area," Takashi listed off without hesitation. "We had just established that it was unacceptable to turn my son into a prisoner within the school and were discussing ways to protect him when he visits the village. Although, Dumbledore seemed to find dissatisfaction with my willingness to allow my son a measure of freedom and my son stated his willingness to withdraw from Hogwarts if the risk to him is as great as Dumbledore seems to believe it is."

"If you did not wish Natsume-kun to leave the castle, why allow the other children to leave the castle? Wouldn't it be wiser to cancel all Hogsmeade visits until Black is caught?" Yamamoto inquired. "Or even limit those allowed to go to the sixth and seventh years or those who are of age."

"I considered that but did not wish to have a school wide mutiny on my hands," Dumbledore admitted. "And while their parents might understand most of the students would not and they would find ways of sneaking out which would put them at risk more so than allowing them to go in the first place."

"If it is just a matter of visiting his parents, why not allow him to travel between Hogwarts and his home via Floo or portkey?" Remus asked curiously.

"I don't know how much you know about Natsume-kun's… situation (above and beyond the complications of him being Harry Potter)," Hatake replied. "But to travel by Floo, one is required to speak their destination. Natsume-kun lacks the ability to speak; hence the reason why he communicates with hand signs. Theoretically, someone else could call out the destinations for him but that would mean that there'd need to be someone magical on both ends of the Floo in order to allow him to move back and forth. His parents are non-magical. Portkey has its own hazards the least of which being that his familiars would suffer repeatedly if forced to travel that way often."

"Ah… didn't think of that. But… he can't speak at all? How…? Since when…? He was a very vocal as a baby."

"Accidental magic," Takashi explained. "He… the time he spent with his maternal aunt was difficult and she did not know how to cope with Ryuu's gifts and he suffered in near silence until the stress reached the point where his magic reacted. He was three at the time and believed silence would protect him, or so I assume, and his magic cast a permanent silencing spell on his vocal cords. That is based off the observations and diagnostic scans from a handful of healers over the last five years since I adopted him just before his seventh birthday. They maintain there is a slight chance that Ryuu could reverse the ward himself but the longer it is in place the harder it would be to break. Once he reaches maturity they don't believe there will ever be a chance to reverse it."

"You're teaching him silent spell casting? Is he any good at it?" Moody asked, once again interested in Ryuu's potential.

"He's very good at it… when he's in complete control," Kimura replied. "He's been casting reliably since he was ten and up until his injuries interfered with that control he had about ninety-one percent accuracy on the higher level first and second year spells and one hundred percent accuracy on the lower level spells."

Moody's eye glittered with something between hunger and glee as focused on Ryuu again and Shogun hissed warningly from his perch on Takashi's shoulder; the owl still distrusting of the wizard.

"No, Moody, you may not claim him as your apprentice no matter how much fun you think it might be to turn him into your clone," Remus dryly stated as he too caught the look on the man's face and caught a whiff of the man's excitement.

"I am willing to return to Hogwarts as Ryuu's personal trainer and quasi bodyguard," Hatake announced once the gentle laughter Remus's rebuke had drawn from the other English wizards died down. "I handed in my resignation to the Bugyou Tokoro; officially retiring from the keikantai, effective as of August twenty-first. I can escort him during the visits to the village on the weekends and continue with his other training on weekday afternoons."

_Arigatou, oji,_ Ryuu signed as he gave Hatake a small smile and bowed as best he could seated with Tenji in his lap.

"If you need a valid reason for my presence at the castle without revealing Natsume-kun's past, I am willing to teach basic self defense to the rest of the students as well."

"I will be available as well, since I will be continuing Natsume-kun's training again this year," Kimura reminded them. "As a privately licensed instructor and researcher I have no other obligations preventing me from continuing his training and I'll be the first to admit that I've grown fond of the mulish gaki over the years. It's actually a strange situation for me as I normally never spend more than a year under a single contract; and yet I've been at it for almost four years now and for once I don't miss the constant change of scenery."

"Anything else that needs to be addressed?" Takashi asked. "It's getting late; Ryuu is still recovering and I have to be to the clinic at seven tomorrow morning."

"There is just one last thing I wish to discuss with you Mr. Natsume before you take your leave," Dumbledore stated. "It is unrelated to the matter at hand and we can discuss it on your way out, if you'd like."

"That should be fine," Takashi agreed as he rose to his feet and shifted Shogun back to Ryuu's shoulder, giving Ryuu's hair a quick ruffle before heading towards the door as Yamamoto dropped the privacy wards. "I'll see you on Thursday, son."

Ryuu nodded as he reluctantly climbed to his feet with Tenji cradled in his arms. Hatake guided him out of the room while Kimura escorted his father back to the portal, Dumbledore and the other English wizards following them. When they reached the stairs, Hatake stopped and held Ryuu back for a moment.

"Are you going to be alright?"

_I don't know yet. Knowing what that man did and what he was supposed to be hurts. The fact that he is running free right now frightens me; not because he might try to come after me but because he might seek out Voldemort and help him regain his power._

"When you're ready to talk, or if you have any questions or concerns; you know where to find me."

_Hai, oji._

"Good," Hatake replied as he steered Ryuu up to the fourth floor and into the dojo as he took out a time turner and looped it over both of their necks before taking them back to six o'clock so Ryuu could join the rest of the school for supper before heading to bed early.

Just before they entered the cafeteria, Ryuu paused and asked, _What am I supposed to tell my friends? I don't want to lie to them but I'm not ready to tell them about my past._

"Tell them the truth; remember honesty above all else. Tell them that we are concerned because you've attracted far too much trouble the past two years and because you've been confronted by Voldemort's shade there's a chance Black might seek you out if he learns of you from his master."

_Wakaru._

Ryuu joined his friends, who had saved him a seat, and when they asked him what happened he told them he'd tell them after supper; when they could have a little more privacy. Yamamoto then stood up to address the student body and announced the news of Sirius Black's escape over the weekend. Ryuu stared at his plate and was thankful that he'd had prior warning; otherwise he might have created a scene during the announcement. To his shock (and confusion), Neville flinched and knocked his plate to the floor after hearing the news; his face chalk white.

The escape was the talk of the night though Ryuu's group of friends avoided the topic as they ate their meal in subdued silence; each of them lost in their own thoughts. After the meal, those with schedule conflicts picked up their time turners from Hatake-sensei before heading upstairs. They took a slight detour to borrow one of the study rooms connected to the library to have their conversation and before Ryuu could explain why he'd been called to the Headmaster's office, Satoshi beat him to the punch; the older boy having deduced the reason after the announcement about Black and being fully aware of Ryuu's track record of attracting trouble.

Later that night, in the privacy of their shared dorm, Ryuu asked Neville if he was alright and Neville revealed that Sirius Black was related to the three Death Eaters that were responsible for the attack on him and his parents when he was a baby. He revealed he wasn't actually afraid of Black (though the man was trouble enough) but the fact that if Black could escape (something no one else had ever done) then what was to prevent the Lestranges from doing the same.

Both boys suffered from nightmares the next couple of nights; their fears plaguing them far more than they let on. After the third night in a row, Ryuu dragged Neville with him to see Hatake before their morning training. His reason; he knew what it was like to be haunted by half remembered terrors and he could well imagine how much Neville was suffering from personal experience. He also knew that Neville didn't really have anyone he could go to since he wasn't really close to anyone in his family (aside from his grandmother whom he was still a bit intimidated by) and he nearly had as many trust issues as Ryuu did.

The talk helped them both but Ryuu benefited from it more because he was far closer to Hatake-sensei than Neville was. Ryuu then suggested that Neville could talk to his dad, since his dad helped people deal with things like nightmares and fears all the time; Neville eventually took Ryuu's advice and after a while his nightmares seemed to pass.

The rest of the summer passed far too quickly and before they knew it the summer session was over and they were taking their assessment tests to determine which classes they'd be taking the following summer. Ryuu earned a completion certificate in both Calligraphy and Latin, which would free up two class periods and allow him to pick up another two electives if he wished. He was also allowed to test for his black belt in aikido and ju jitsu (with his father's and Hatake-sensei's permission once they'd determined that his body was recovering) which he passed. Had Takahashi still been Ryuu's instructor he might have argued to wait until Ryuu was fifteen or sixteen as he'd originally stipulated but Takashi and Hatake both believed Ryuu was ready to move to the next level.

His results from his Intermediate Runes class were to be forwarded to Hogwarts so that he could be placed in the appropriately level class as he'd signed up for Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and Care of Magical Creatures. In Mastery Level Music, he earned the rank of summoner; his hidden status as a living focus naturally enhancing his ability to imbue his music with his magic. They also discovered he had affinities towards three different animals; birds, felines, and strangely reptiles with an extremely strong connection to snakes.

It was also during those lessons that Ryuu confirmed that he could understand snake speech; which kind of freaked him out a bit since their voices reminded him of the way Riddle's shade had spoken to the basilisk – cold with a hint of darkness. Hatake told him the ability was called parseltongue and that it probably explained why he had such a strong connection when summoning snakes; he also suggested Ryuu not speak of the ability as it was considered dark in some cultures (in and around Europe especially).

The rest of his group did exceptionally well in their classes too, all of them passing into the next levels with Neville and Hermione advancing one level in aikido as well; signifying that they'd improved over the year. Of those attending Hogwarts over the coming year, all but Ryuu would be sponsoring a student for the year; even Luna. Ryuu had been asked not to take on the extra responsibility this year since he was carrying a heavier class load than he had previously and both his father and Hatake thought it would add too much stress on top of everything else. That still meant there would be six transfer students attending Hogwarts for the upcoming year; five of them joining the Gryffindors.

On the flight back to England, Takashi joked that if the current trend continued they'd have to charter a private jet to transport them all back and forth since their group now occupied all but five of the first class seats. They could have moved back to coach and saved a bit of money but it was far more comfortable in first class and they had to deal with far fewer passengers. As it was, this would probably be the last time they'd be flying together as one large group due to the two schools making arrangements to provide magical transportation for those students joining the sponsorship program. Ryuu and his close friends would probably elect to continue traveling through non-magical means if only because they enjoyed the chance to hang out without school getting in the way.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Bugyou Tokoro – Magistrate's office  
>Gaki – brat<br>Keikantai – police force  
>Oji - uncle<br>Otouto – (younger) brother  
>Wakaru – I understand (present tense – informal)<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I'd intended to have this up two and a half weeks ago but between one thing and another I didn't quite get around to it. Don't know when the next chapter will be posted but hopefully it won't take me as long as this one did. As a side note, I did not replace any earlier chapters with edited versions this time around. I may or may not get them done when I post the next chapter; depends on when I make the time to format the edited chapters. _

_I'd like to thank everyone that has left a review as well as those that have added this story or my author's page to their favorites and/or alert lists. If I did not reply to your review, it was nothing personal; I just have a hard time keeping track of which reviews I've answered because of the way has the review replies set up. All of your reviews were very much appreciated though. ~ Jenn_


	26. Demonic Influence & Matters of the Heart

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 25: Demonic Influence and Matters of the Heart<span>

_Diagon Alley, London, England &  
>Hogwarts Castle, Scotland<br>September 1993 ~ October 1993_

The group split up upon arriving in London; the Grangers, the Creeveys, the Lovegoods, and the Longbottoms all opting to spend the last week of summer vacation at home; their guests heading home with them. Takashi and his family, the Weasley twins, Hatake, and Kimura on the other hand headed to the Leaky Caldron where they'd be staying until the children left for Hogwarts.

Fred and George's family would be meeting them there two days before the first; the Weasleys having spent most of the summer in Egypt visiting the oldest Weasley son after the family won some kind of lottery. Fred and George had been sad to miss the opportunity to visit their eldest brother (whom they rarely ever got to see) but were not sad to have experienced the summer session at the academy. Their pranking tendencies had been greatly curbed by the strict discipline the academy enforced while at the same time they'd been encouraged to continue inventing new spells, potions, and gimmicks because they showed great innovative talent.

That's not to say the two pranksters didn't indulge in a bit of mischief here and there when they felt the situation warranted it; they were just far more subtle about it and far less likely to be caught now. It was their inventiveness that really stood out, especially now that they'd integrated themselves completely into Ryuu's group of friends; the two of them very close to Kimi and Satoshi since they were closer in age (Fred having developed a bit of the crush on the pretty fifth year).

When the Weasleys finally arrived on the evening of the twenty-ninth, Ryuu made an even bigger enemy out of the youngest boy when Shogun and Tenji tried to attack his rat. Ryuu hadn't even known the other teen had a pet, let alone a rat, and had apologized for his familiar's behavior but otherwise made no excuses since it was in his two friends' nature to eat prey and the rat was prey in their eyes. At the same time Ryuu was confused by Shogun showing such interest in the rat since the owl preferred to eat other birds instead of rodents; something he mentioned in passing to Hatake because he thought it odd behavior for his familiar. Hatake figured it was probably just a matter of proximity and instinct and to not worry about.

That was the first time Ryuu had seen Ginny since the night he fought the basilisk and saved her life. She timidly thanked him after being prompted by her mother before she apologized for the trouble she caused him. Ryuu politely accepted both the apology and the thanks but made no overtures to cultivate a friendship with the extremely shy twelve year old; her presence was unfortunately forever linked with bad memories which made him uncomfortable around her.

Molly Weasley had once again tried to accost Ryuu with a hug and Ryuu once again inserted another body in between him and the overly demonstrative woman as he still didn't know her and he still had trouble trusting adults outside of his family and those adults that had sworn oaths. The woman was slightly offended both with Ryuu's avoidance of her motherly affections and because he didn't seem to be interested in being friends with her two youngest. If she'd been aware of just _who_ he was she would have been more than a little upset about the matter.

Arthur Weasley was a pleasant enough man, when he wasn't asking silly questions about normal everyday things or staring at Ryuu like he was a fascinating puzzle (partly because he was raised in the non-magical world, partly because he'd saved his daughter, and largely because of his disability and his ability to cope with it). The only reason Ryuu didn't try to avoid the man completely, was because he was a rather ready source of knowledge about the ongoing search for Sirius Black though, working as he did in a sub-division of the British Ministry of Magic.

Percy, the third oldest son, was just Percy. He was a bit dry and stuffy but otherwise didn't interact with anyone (even his own family) and with the twins toning down their pranks and teasing there was no evidence of any rivalry between the oldest child present and the younger four. Though he did annoy the rest of the school age children present each time he brought up the fact that he'd been chosen as Head Boy for the year.

On the thirtieth, the majority of Ryuu's friends converged on Diagon Alley to do their school shopping and Ryuu gladly joined them. Luna clung to his arm the entire time they were in the alley, claiming she'd missed her Dragon every second she'd been away and putting Ryuu into a perpetual state of mild embarrassment tinged with just a touch of pleasure. He wasn't quite certain when he started growing fond of the dainty blonde but she had a way of worming into his heart with her carefree attitude, open mindedness, and ability to liven up any room she entered. If he'd been just a little older he might have been willing to say he'd developed a crush on the girl; but Ryuu wasn't quite at that stage in his development.

They stopped at the bank first before heading to Madam Malkin's for those that needed adjustments made to their robes or needed to purchase new ones because they'd outgrown their old ones. After that they headed to the stationary store and then to the apothecary in order to stock up on supplies. They ended up spending close to an hour in the bookstore as the more academic oriented members of their group browsed the new releases and searched for titles they'd discovered at the academy's library over the summer.

Finally, they converged on the Magical Menagerie as Ryuu needed more treats for his familiars and a refill on cat liter, while Neville picked up dried insects for his toad and Hermione and Luna browsed the available pets for a suitable companion. Hermione ended up picking up a monstrosity of a kneazle mix named Crookshanks that had been in the store for a long time; the poor cat looked like it had run face first into a wall (repeatedly). He had quite an interesting personality though and he was oddly submissive around Tenji but ignored Shogun completely. Luna on the other hand said she couldn't decide what to get and none of the animals seemed to be calling her name.

When she was on the verge of leaving without getting the pet she had hoped for, Tenji intervened and brought her a tiny little female kneazle (one that had been hiding beneath a pile of larger kittens) that was a near solid white with cream highlights, a golden tail-tuft, and bright crimson eyes; the little female was an albino and the complete opposite of Tenji as far as coloring went. Luna fell in love with her immediately and Tenji returned to Ryuu's shoulder purring smugly and Ryuu made a note to ask Hatake about the cat's out of character behavior. Shogun even showed more than passing interest in the tiny kneazle female and not in a bad way; he wasn't eying the dainty thing up as if it was a free meal after all.

During supper, Luna christened her kneazle Himiko; naming the exotic kitten after an obscure Japanese shaman queen that reputedly ruled in Yamataikoku during the third century. The connotations of her naming her kitten after a Japanese monarch (one closely associated with magic) was not lost on those adults who knew how and why Tenji earned his name. The fact that both kneazles had begun purring contentedly after the young female had been properly named had those magical adults present that had experience dealing with familiars (and therefore understood their behaviors better than those who hadn't) eying the older male kneazle appraisingly before sitting back and considering Ryuu's and Luna's interactions over the summer and during their trip through the alley.

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><p>Security at platform nine and three-quarters the next day was tight; parents not being allowed to pass through the barrier for the first time in years in order to limit the actual number of bodies crowding the platform that was being patrolled by two full squads of Aurors. Hatake, Kimura, Moody, and Lupin (who'd arrived at the platform three hours before the students were due in order to secure the train) would be patrolling the train as an added precaution during the long journey.<p>

Hatake had already staked out a compartment in the last car for Ryuu and his friends as the older wizard fully intended to sit with the group in order to keep a close watch on Ryuu during the rise. Once on the train, Ryuu, Hermione, Neville, Luna, and their guests settled in the compartment Hatake had commandeered while Colin and the twins both opted to meet up with their other friends so they could introduce those they'd invited to Hogwarts to their friends.

Two-thirds of the way to Hogwarts, the train suddenly ground to a halt as the lights were doused. Hatake was out patrolling the corridors of the last two cars at the time so it was just the seven children in the compartment when the trio of dementors slipped onto the train through the car's connector door at the rear of the train. The animals in the compartment sensed the creatures first, Tenji and Shogun immediately kicking up a fuss with Trevor, Himiko, and Crookshanks joining in a split second later.

Ryuu stood up and lit up one of his Training Wands to provide a bit of light as they tried to calm the animals and discover why they were flipping out. Not more than ten seconds after he lit the wand the door slid open to reveal the three dementors. Neville squeaked in fear the moment his eyes landed on the creatures and promptly curled up on his seat with his hands over his head as his body began shaking. Luna gasped and began crying as she clung to the crying Himiko and rocked back and forth. Hermione and the three exchanged students all grew pale as they felt the happiness being sucked out of the compartment.

Ryuu was the most affected by the creatures though; the instant he saw them he felt a wave of utter wrongness sweep over him along with a desperate hunger that nearly overpowered the sense of emptiness they exuded. Before he could determine if the creatures were youkai or not he was thrust back into his deepest and darkest nightmares while his two familiars were knocked unconscious due to the backlash of negative emotions that swept through the bond.

Ryuu's partial grasp on Occlumency worked against him as it trapped him in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness as he was forced to relive his worst nightmares and fears over and over again. In the mean time, he had no control over his body as the three dementors were drawn to the spiritual power and wild magic he constantly exuded. The demons had just reached out to lift him from where he'd been standing frozen in the middle of the compartment when two silvery creatures made of pure magic burst into the compartment and chased the dementors out.

Hatake and Lupin both arrived seconds later, the two wizards out of breath and covered in sweat as they took in the condition of the children inside. Remus moved to help the children least effected while Hatake first approached Ryuu who had collapsed to his knees bonelessly once the dementors had been chased off; his mind still trapped in an endless loop.

Hatake lifted him up off the floor and laid him down on the bench seat as a nervous Hermione and distraught Luna shifted to make room for him. His familiars were placed beside him where they wouldn't be injured. Hatake next tended to Neville who was also still caught up in the effects of the dementors; gently talking the boy out of his memories until he was partially coherent enough to accept the chocolate Lupin handed him and eat it as instructed. Once everyone but Ryuu appeared to be recovering, Lupin headed out to check on the other students in the car while Hatake traded places with Hermione so he could sit with Ryuu.

When Ryuu finally broke free from the mind trap he'd been locked in, he came up fighting and in a state of pure panic. If Hatake hadn't been there to subdue him he might have hurt one of the other children on accident; something Ryuu would have never forgiven himself for since that was one of his greatest fears. It took a good fifteen minutes for the man to calm Ryuu down enough to let him up off the floor where he'd pinned him and when the thirteen year old finally picked himself up off the floor he refused to look anyone in the eye.

Hatake ordered him to sit down, passed him an entire bar of Honeydukes' chocolate, and told him to eat at least half of it and give an eighth to each of his familiars once they woke up. Ryuu robotically complied; obedience an ingrained habit from the long years he'd spent as the wizard's student. Color and feeling eventually returned to him but the haunted look never left his eyes as he just sat and stared at the floor in front of him. Both Luna's and Neville's lingering distress was also very apparent though not quite as severe as Ryuu's.

When the train finally pulled into the Hogsmeade Station, Hatake ordered Ryuu, Luna, and Neville to sit tight for a moment while urging the others to exit the train. He then locked the three in the compartment so they wouldn't go anywhere while he helped the other adults on the train get everyone else off. The four adults then gathered up the handful of students that had suffered the worst due to the exposure of the dementors (other cars had been invaded by more of the creatures at the same time) and led them to the last three remaining carriages.

Moody and Hatake climbed into the carriage that Ryuu, Luna, Neville, and Ginny Weasley were helped into while Lupin joined those students who'd been victims of the basilisk during the previous year, and Kimura joined the final carriage that held another four students. When the carriages drew near to the gates of Hogwarts, which were being guarded by a pair of dementors, Moody sent his patronus out of the window of the carriage in order to push the demonic creatures back while all three of the other adults called up their patronuses and had them sit in the center of the carriages in order to block out the effects of the dementors.

They were met at the castle door by all four Heads of House and Madam Pomfrey and the affected students were ushered into the antechamber off the entrance hall where the healer checked each of them before either sending them into the Great Hall with instructions to eat more chocolate for desert or sent up to the Hospital Wing if they appeared to be on the verge of collapse. When it was just Ryuu, Neville, and Luna left Madam Pomfrey was about to send them directly to the Hospital Wing, as she had Miss Weasley, only for Ryuu to show the first sign of interest in his surroundings since the attack.

Writing out a single, emotionally charged sentence on his whiteboard; _I will go to the Great Hall, I will not sit in a bed where I will have nothing to distract me from what I have been forced to relive a hundred times over. _

Neville and Luna both stated they would go where Ryuu went and an exasperated Madam Pomfrey shooed them out of the room in a huff. When they walked into the hall with Moody and Hatake, Draco Malfoy (sitting at the end of the Slytherin table close to the entrance doors) taunted Ryuu and Neville about being big babies unable to handle a simple dementor. Neville had ignored him and walked proudly to Gryffindor table where Hermione had saved him a seat.

Ryuu though, had stopped and turned to stare at the annoying Slytherin and simply stared; his emerald eyes swirling with rage and knowledge of what it truly means to be tortured. Malfoy actually fell backwards out of his seat with a cry of fear as he tried to meet Ryuu's gaze and the belief that Ryuu was Slytherin's Heir (which had died down by the end of the term last year) was rekindled by those who witnessed Ryuu cowing the Malfoy heir with nothing more than a look. Ryuu had then dismissed the blonde as he followed Luna to their usual seats at the end of the Ravenclaw table.

Shogun and Tenji took their usual meal time perches on the table and Ryuu's lap respectfully while Himiko imperiously perched beside Luna's plate. Ryuu smiled briefly at the kitten; her regal pose marred by kittenish mannerisms reminding him of Tenji when he first got him. An amused rumble from his lap let him know that Tenji had somehow guessed what he was thinking and Ryuu smiled fondly down at his kneazle as he gently scratched the cat behind the ear. The food arrived not long after the two of them sat down as they'd come in as this year's exchange students were introduced and sent to join their sponsors.

The appearance of Ryuu's nutritional potion drew several speculative glances from those that recognized the potion and a number of those glances turned contemplative when Ryuu took the potion without hesitation and without making a fuss about the rather horrid taste. What most people didn't know though was that the antidote for exposure to the Cruciatus Curse was ten times fouler which meant that the taste of the nutritional potion barely registered in Ryuu's mind. Additionally, he'd been taking the potion for so long now that it was pure habit for him to down the foul brew before taking his first bite.

The first time Ryuu bothered to look up at the staff table was after the meal was over when Dumbledore stood to make his announcements and Ryuu received the biggest shock of the night as he saw his father sitting between his mother and Hatake while Nyanko-sensei perched on the back of his chair, the disguised youkai wearing a smug grin.

"Welcome to the start of another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore intoned with a grandfatherly smile as his eyes twinkled brightly for a moment. A moment later the old wizard became the picture of seriousness as he handed out the start of term notices. "Many of you will have noticed that Hogwarts is currently being guarded by a contingent of dementors. I will warn you now; do not take their presence lightly and do not attempt to sneak into or out of the school. The dementors are not very forgiving and they will not care if you are an innocent student trying to sneak out to buy a chocolate bar or a convicted criminal trying to break into the castle. The dementors also can not be tricked by magical disguises, camouflage spells, or invisibility spells or cloaks; so please do not try."

"I will remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students and further warn you that the dementors will be prowling beneath the trees this year which means that the forest is far more dangerous than usual. There are a number of items that have been banned from Hogwarts; to find out exactly what they are please see the list posted outside of the caretaker's office on the second floor. Finally, magic is not allowed in the corridors between classes and any student caught hexing another student or another student's pet will be dealt with harshly."

"Next I'd like to introduce you to our new faces; Defense Against the Dark Arts will be taught by Remus Lupin, Kakashi Hatake has joined us once more and will be teaching an optional physical defense class for those interested (please sign up by the end of the week so lessons can be scheduled around your current classes), and Wilhemina Grubbly-Plank will be taking over the Care of Magical Creatures course as Professor Kettleburn retired at the end of last year."

"We also have Alastor Moody who has accepted the post of caretaker in the absence of Mr. Filch who has not yet recovered from the spell damage he received at the end of last term. Next is Taki Natsume who has been hired to tutor our first and second years in penmanship, writing composition, and developing effective study skills. And finally Takashi Natsume is a licensed Mind Healer who has been hired to fill the newly created School Councilor position; he will be available every morning after breakfast, in the afternoons after lunch, and on weekends to help you work through any issues or problems you may have. His office is located off the Entrance Hall and his office hours have been posted on the door."

Hundreds of eyes swung around to rest on Ryuu (who was still staring up at his parents with mixed feelings) the moment the final two new staff members were introduced; a number of them correctly deducing that they were related. The students were dismissed a minute later and Ryuu woodenly climbed to his feet and took two steps towards the staff table before he sighed and turned to follow Luna up to Ravenclaw Tower, confused and a little hurt that his parents hadn't told him they'd be at the castle.

They walked part of the way with Neville, Hermione, and the twins before they split off from the Gryffindors where their paths diverged. They'd just reached the final set of stairs leading up to the tower when Hatake stepped out of the shadows and asked Ryuu to come with him. As they took several shortcuts back down to the first floor (to save time) Hatake casually asked, "You are angry?"

_Confused and hurt; but mostly still feeling the effects from the dementors. _

"Madam Pomfrey was most vocal in her disapproval after your casual refusal to go to the infirmary."

_The forced semi-isolation would have made it harder to forget. I may enjoy my solitude and seek space from time to time but intangible demons that follow you no matter where you go make your fears and nightmares feel far more real and terrifying when you have nothing to distract you. I am lost somewhere between reality and my nightmares and I'm terrified of becoming trapped in the nightmares again._

They came to a stop right outside of Takashi's new office and Hatake took out his wand and keyed Ryuu's magical signature into the protective wards that had been placed on the door and then keyed the signatures of both his wands into the wards so that he would be able to carry his wands with him into the office (the only student that would be allowed to do so). Before he opened the door, Hatake turned to study Ryuu's profile; trying to read the boy's current state of mind as he recalled his violent reaction upon coming out of his trance like state induced by the presence of the dementors.

"Don't let the fact that they didn't tell you beforehand cloud your heart right now. You and I both know you need your parents and they would not have withheld information without a good reason."

Ryuu nodded as Hatake opened the door and gently pushed him into the office before shutting the door and propping himself up against the wall beside the door, an orange book making its way into his hand. Inside the office, Ryuu shifted nervously from foot to foot as he shifted his gaze between his mother and father.

"We would have told you sooner if we had been certain the Board of Governors would approve Dumbledore-shishou's proposals. We did not want you to get your hopes up only for them to refuse to allow Dumbledore to hire us," Takashi explained after a few minutes. "Part of the reason he fought so hard to get us up to the castle is because your mother and I would have been vulnerable to the effects of the dementors and without protection down in the village and because he felt having us closer to you would be beneficial after your insistence of spending more time with us the night we learned about the escape."

_I'm not angry; more confused and hurt because it felt like you didn't trust me. I don't think it would have bothered me quite so much if… if I had been able to think clearly, _Ryuu admitted as finally moved forward to seek the comfort he so desperately needed. _It was terrible, tousan; they are monsters. The foulest creatures I've ever encountered and they sucked the happiness and life right out of the room; I could feel the wrongness and a desperate hunger pouring off of them along with unending emptiness. Whatever they did to me trapped me in an endless nightmare and I couldn't escape; not even into unconsciousness. I would rather face another basilisk with my bare hands than ever have to experience that again. _

Ryuu was trembling as Takashi wrapped him in his arms and held him close, his tears finally falling as he stopped trying to hide how badly he'd been affected by what he'd witnessed. It was like the dementors had stripped away the last six years of his life while dredging up every terrible thing he'd ever witnessed and he'd floundered within his own mind questioning everything. Reality ceased to exist for a time; which is why he'd come out of the mind trap desperately fighting.

"We'll be living here in the castle; we have quarters connected to this office and to your mother's classroom and office which are located on the second floor beside the main entrance to the library. I won't expect you to come see us everyday but anytime you need one of us you will be welcome to seek us out; the only time we will be unavailable is when we are helping the other students. Nyanko will be patrolling the castle during the nights in his natural form and in his cat form during the day, so expect him to follow you around from time to time."

"I'm not going to ask you what they forced you to experience because I can guess how terrible it was for you because I too experienced their terrible aura when your mother and I entered the castle grounds. However, I will listen when you need someone to talk to about it; as will Hatake, Kimura, Flitwick, or your mother should you wish to talk to one of them instead. All I ask is that you talk to one of us as soon as you think you can handle it; don't let it fester for days on end or it is only going to get worse. Even if you just talk about how what you experienced made you feel… like you did just now."

Ryuu nodded his head, not bothering to let go of his father as he soaked up the strength his father represented to him right that moment. Using the connection he shared with his father to ground his soul firmly to reality and center his emotions. It took a while, but eventually Ryuu felt secure enough to pull away from his father enough to thank him.

They spent some time talking about Ryuu's courses for the year before Takashi asked if Ryuu was feeling well enough to head up to his dorm or if he needed to stay a bit longer. Ryuu hesitated over the temptation of clinging to his parents before he said he'd go back to the tower and if the nightmares turned out to be too much for him to deal with he promised to come back. He then hugged his parents and told them he loved them before he exited the office to find Hatake waiting for him.

The two of them took the long way back to Ravenclaw Tower, Hatake allowing Ryuu to set the pace as they climbed up staircases and wandered through seemingly endless corridors. They'd covered about half the distance when Ryuu slowed to a stop and stared at the floor for a full minute before he glanced sideways at his honorary uncle. His small frame radiating with tense nervousness as he worked up the courage to speak what ever it was that was bothering him.

_Oji? I'm… I'm scared. No… I'm terrified I'm going to lose control again. Everything is so mixed up right now in my head and I can't… it won't… there isn't… and… and I don't understand why I can't fix it. What will happen if I come out of a nightmare fighting again because I can't tell the difference between the dreams and reality? None of my dorm mates could stop me; even if I somehow manage to not to tap into my magic. _

"_**I will stay with you tonight**_," Madara announced as he slipped around the corner, his head practically touching the ceiling until he crouched down so he was nose to nose with Ryuu; the youkai having been keeping pace with Ryuu (just out of sight) since he'd left Takashi's office.

"My quarters have been moved this year," Hatake replied, the wizard unable to see or hear the youkai in his natural form. "The entrance to my rooms is directly across from the Ravenclaw Tower entrance and I will key you into the wards so that you can come to me if you need anything."

Ryuu reached up and rested a hand on Madara's nose as he met the wolf's sincere golden gaze and nodded slowly. He then turned to his eyes to Hatake without dropping his hand, and used his free hand to reply to the man, _Nyanko-sensei just promised to watch over me tonight. I… I'm glad you will be close by too. I don't know what I would do if you weren't here. Otousan… he does what he can for me and he is very important to me but he can't help me with everything; though he tries his best. Magic is beyond him though and should I hurt him it would kill me._

"I am glad that you will not be alone tonight and my reason for being here is to help you in any way I can. Your father is aware of his limitations; which is one of the reasons he came to me earlier this summer. He loves you very much and if anything were to happen to you in turn it would kill him," Hatake replied as he reached out and gently grabbed Ryuu's chin. "You don't have to be strong alone. It is not weakness to lean on others when you are hurting and it is not weakness to rely upon others to hold you up when you are drowning. Knowing your limitations and allowing others to help you will only make you stronger in the end."

Hatake waited until some of the shadows receded from Ryuu's eyes before he let go of his chin and ruffled his hair. He then pulled out a time turner and draped the chain over both of their heads as he glanced at the invisible creature that Ryuu's hand was still resting on before stating, "If Neko-chan is going to be going with you, he'll need to be in a slightly smaller form when I take you back two turns."

"_**Baka! I will not travel on cursed magic. Leave your window open, Natsume-kun and I will find you when you return to your proper time.**_"

_Nyanko-sensei doesn't like magic; he will find me when I catch back up to myself._

Hatake nodded as Ryuu's hand dropped and he spun the hourglass on the chain that connected the two of them and Ryuu's familiars and the world around the two of them blurred and spun as time rewound itself. When the world once again stood firm, Hatake lifted the chain of the time turner from his neck and tucked it beneath Ryuu's shirt. The two of them then continued on up to Ravenclaw Tower where Hatake showed Ryuu the entrance to his private quarters before keying him into the wards. The wizard then followed Ryuu into Ravenclaw Tower in case Flitwick was waiting to see why Ryuu was out after curfew (it being shortly after ten).

There was almost no one in the common room though, the students having gone to bed after the long day of travel and large feast. In fact, aside from the two of them there was only one person sitting in the common room and that was a rather distraught Luna Lovegood. The diminutive second year was curled up on one of the smaller couches in the room with her legs pulled up to her chest and Himiko perched on top of her head while tears steady poured down her face.

Ryuu froze the moment he saw her, a different kind of tension filling him as he searched the room for evidence of Luna's distress before crossing to her side when he couldn't see anyone or anything aside from the cloud of fairies that always followed her. Hatake melted into the shadows and silently observed the unfolding seen; the immediate changes in Ryuu's demeanor (from weary and stressed to alert and predatory) making him curious as to what the thirteen year old was going to do.

Ryuu never noticed his honorary uncle vanishing as he moved to Luna's side and sat down beside her. When she looked up at him with red, tear filled eyes; Ryuu asked her what was wrong. She just shook her head and dropped her face back onto her knees, the kneazle kitten on her head crying in protest as she was almost knocked from her perch. Ryuu frowned as he lifted Tenji from his shoulder and set him on the couch as he pulled out his ocarina and played two long notes. A second later a small being popped into the room and bowed low to Ryuu.

"Master Ryuu-sama has called his Dobby?" the elf inquired with traces of his old excitability leaking into his voice as he stood trembling with suppressed excitement as he waited for an order.

_Dobby, please bring me two mugs of hot chocolate with whip cream and caramel drizzle, a few bars of the darkest chocolate you can find, and a small bowl of chocolate ice cream with whip cream, nuts, hot fudge, and a couple of cherries on top. I will also need my strengthening potion before I go to bed._

"Right away, Master Ryuu-sama."

Five minutes later, a small table popped into existence followed by the requested order of enough chocolate to satisfy even the most depressed chocoholic in need of a pick-me-up. Ryuu lifted one mug and tapped Luna on the shoulder, pushing the mug gently into her hands the moment she looked up, not allowing her to refuse. She eventually dropped her legs and curled her hands around the mug as Tenji purred and climbed into her lap while Himiko dropped to her shoulder and stuck her nose in the whip cream and caramel drizzle overflowing from the mug. Ryuu collected his own mug of chocolate and simply sat beside the young girl, their knees touching as they sipped their warm drinks.

After a few minutes, Ryuu set his unfinished drink down and wiped the chocolate from his face and hands as he pulled his flute back out. He then closed his eyes and began playing a soft tune to warm up before he fed fine threads of his magic into and around his flute as he launched into a hauntingly beautiful tune that echoed and resonated through the entire common room as he concentrated on the image of the creature he wished to summon. Several minutes later, a flash of fire filled the room as Dumbledore's phoenix flashed into the room to answer the summons. Fawkes hovered silently for several bars of music before he gently added his voice to the song, filling the room with warmth and hope as he settled down on the back of the couch between Ryuu and Luna.

Luna slowly relaxed and when she finished her chocolate she set the mug on the table and curled up into Ryuu's side as she pet the two kneazles that were now snuggled together in her lap. A half an hour later the song gently faded into silence as Ryuu lowered his ocarina and allowed his magic to dissipate as the strain of imbuing his music with magic finally caught up to him; the exhaustion worse when combined with the emotional evening he'd had. Fawkes trilled a short tune and preened both children (after he'd sought and obtained permission from Ryuu's familiars) for a moment before he took flight and vanished in a second flash of flames; the phoenix knowing it was no longer needed.

Ryuu reached out after a moment and grabbed the bowl of ice cream, showing no surprise that it was still cold and unmelted, and gently pressed the bowl into Luna's hands as he shifted slightly so they were now sitting side by side with the smaller girl tucked partly under Ryuu's shoulder. Luna accepted the ice cream more willingly than she had the hot chocolate and offered small bites to the two kneazles before taking a bite for herself. When she timidly offered Ryuu a bite he hesitated before allowing her to feed it to him; his stomach flipping weirdly as a blush rose to his cheeks. Halfway through the shared bowl of ice cream, Luna finally began speaking.

"I saw my mum die again," Luna whispered, her soft voice filling the entire room with her pain. "I was nine… she was working on a new ward scheme she was trying to create to allow daddy to see the nargles like we could. She messed up and the stone she was carving overcharged and exploded. I was caught in the blast but was far enough away that it just threw me into the wall and I was knocked out. I woke up covered in blood that was not mine and hurting all over. Mum… mummy was there right in front of. She was… she wasn't… there was so much blood. I screamed and screamed until I couldn't scream any more and when daddy finally found us he broke… he… he left me without leaving me and I was so afraid I was going to lose him too."

Ryuu didn't make any move to interrupt her as he pulled her close and leaned his chin on her head offering her the only thing he could; the comfort of his presence and a willingness to hear her out.

"The only ones that didn't leave me were the nargles and other creatures my mummy said were my guardian spirits. I have to be strong for daddy but it hurts so much sometimes. I used to have a friend but she stopped being my friend because her mum didn't trust daddy because she said he wasn't right in the head. I was all alone and so afraid and I didn't know what to do any more. I'd wake up screaming in the night but no one ever came to save me and so I learned to step outside of myself to escape the pain."

"It's why they made fun of me last year; I'm different because it hurt to be me. I wasn't just out walking when you found me last year. The other first years had locked me outside and stolen my shoes and I ran because of the hurtful things they said about daddy. I really thought you were one of my guardian spirits when you found me; you'd turned up right after I wished for someone to find me and save, for someone to be strong for me, and most of all for someone to be my friend so I wouldn't be alone."

"I had been following the music before it stopped because it spoke of pain like the pain I held inside and I felt so lost when it ended which was when I got my foot caught in a hole and hurt my ankle. I stepped outside myself at that point and when I looked up and saw you I saw the dragon inside of you and for the first time I felt safe and protected. I was so scared that you would disappear the moment I closed my eyes; that you would be nothing more than a dream. Over time the pain slowly began to fade because you didn't vanish afterwards and then I thought I lost you the night you fought the basilisk. I heard the wolf's cry and knew you'd died. Only you were there again and I felt hope at last."

"I'd finally stepped back inside myself this summer when you invited me to see your world and daddy was far more centered then he'd been for a long time; I think it helped that your mother sometimes spoke of the spirits that lived in Japan and about her grandfather's wish to see them. And then suddenly everything I'd found was stripped away again when they came and I was so scared the last year was nothing but a lie."

Luna burst into tears again as she turned into Ryuu and clung to him, her tears soaking his shirt and chest as she poured out her grief. He simply held her as he thought about his own nightmares that he'd been forced to relive that night and he sent a brief prayer of thanks to his ancestors that his father had found him and saved him when he had.

Eventually, Luna sat back a bit and apologized for soaking him with her tears before she leaned forward and kissed his cheek to thank him for listening. Before she left, Ryuu pressed several of the bars of chocolate into her hands and brushed away the last of her tears and smiled softly in reply to the tiny smile she gave him. Then she gathered Himiko and vanished into the girls' dormitories, taking the swarm of tiny fairies with her.

Hatake slipped silently from the room, his head swimming with everything he'd learned about the delicate young girl that had attached herself to Ryuu. She had an inner strength that hid the brittleness underneath and she had struggled alone with a terrible burden for nearly three years. That she had crossed paths with one of the few students in the castle that could fully understand her pain was sheer coincidence or pure luck.

The compassion and understanding Ryuu had displayed in comforting his young friend without expecting anything in return showed a side of the young wizard that was very rarely seen. Ryuu held the potential to be the greatest wizard of all time; he was charismatic when he wasn't held down by his fears, extremely intelligent, hardworking, unbelievably powerful, and compassionate. He also retained a measure of innocence that Hatake had once believed couldn't have survived everything that Ryuu had suffered through over the past two years.

* * *

><p>That first week of classes was the most difficult for Ryuu and his friends. Ryuu, Neville, and Luna took the longest to shake off the lingering nightmares and fears the dementors had stirred inside them. Ginny Weasley also had a hard time and by the end of the week she'd been pulled from the school when it became apparent that she was unable to cope with reliving the harrowing experience of her first year so soon following the aftermath of her possession and near death.<p>

If not for their friends and each other, Ryuu, Neville, and Luna could very well have ended up leaving Hogwarts as well. As it was, Ryuu and Luna helped each other as they were the only two of their group in Ravenclaw (not counting Luna's new friend from Japan that she shared her classes with during the day). Neville had the rest of their friends to lean on when he wasn't able to spend time with Ryuu, whom Neville was closest too since both boys knew much of what each other had experienced.

Their group floundered a bit without Satoshi and Kimi there; their absence felt acutely by Ryuu and Hermione respectfully but the constant flow of letters back and forth (through extensive use of the school owls since Shogun never left Ryuu's side unless it was to deliver letters to his parents or his friends within the castle) helped a little. Takashi's and Taki's presence in the castle helped as well since all three of the troubled friends often found themselves seeking out advice from the pair when they were troubled. Luna spent an hour each morning with Taki, the presence of a mother figure in her life once more helping to center her even though she still spent a good portion of her time with one foot outside of herself.

Neville often sought out Takashi for fatherly advice and someone to talk to; seeing Ryuu's father as a surrogate older brother because he had no desire to replace his father in his own mind. Ryuu on the other hand leaned on Hatake, his father, and his mother equally; each one of them helping him in different ways. Hatake helped him with his fears of losing control and problems stemming from his magic, his father helped him with his past fears and insecurities, and his mother provided him with warmth, comfort, and love. Taki was also the one he first approached about the confusing and conflicting feelings Luna stirred in him; she didn't come right out and tell him that he was developing a crush on the younger girl (that would have frightened him off at this point) but she did help him to understand that the feelings were natural and that with time he'd learn to understand what they meant.

By the end of September, the monotony of daily classes and class assignments had soothed the last of their troubles as they relaxed into familiar routines and finally put their fears to rest (for the most part anyway). The news that Sirius Black had been sighted down in Surrey just before the start of term (the information filtering into the wizarding world slowly because it had been a muggle woman who'd seen him) eased a measure of tension that the students and staff had been feeling since Surrey was a long ways from Scotland. The only two people not reassured by that information were Takashi and Dumbledore; both of them fully aware of what, or rather who, Black would have been looking for in Surrey. It was a confirmation in their minds that the escaped convict had been looking for his godson.

After that sighting, Takashi started spending his free time researching Sirius Black's entire life. He could often be seen inside the library during the day pouring over old newspaper articles, court records, and various history texts; including an extensive history of the Black Family. Halfway through October, (after he'd learned what his father was doing) Ryuu passed his father a stack of notes that he had been secretly compiling since he'd first heard Black escaped from the prison back in August.

Included in those notes was an extensive profile on the mass murderer based upon the journals of his biological father that Takashi had given Ryuu years earlier (journals that had been amongst the possessions reclaimed from Gringotts on the day Ryuu's adoption had been finalized) and the revelation that Black had not received a trial before being thrown into prison. Takashi had read through his son's notes and gone straight to Remus Lupin (the only man who could provide further insight into Sirius Black's life) and closeted himself in with the wizard for six hours one Saturday morning.

Using his vast knowledge of human behavior and social patterns, Takashi used all of the information he and his son had gathered to plot out what was supposed to be Sirius Black's decent into insanity. The problem was that there was an abrupt shift in the pattern just around the time the Potters were murdered and everything after that point fell into no discernible pattern. Insanity, contrary to common belief, does not set in over night (so long as there wasn't a spell or potion involved); it is a gradual degradation of one's grasp on reality until the person just finally snaps when the stress becomes too much. Black showed no such signs of long term degradation.

He showed the occasional lapse in good judgment and common sense that all hormonal teenagers display but aside from those times his behaviors were consistent with a normal semi-adjusted wizard (all wizards seeming a little crazy to Takashi). Even once he was out of Hogwarts, his behavior didn't change until the night the Potters were murdered. He'd shown evidence of extreme grief and sheer fury based upon what Hagrid told him of that night (the groundskeeper having been the last one to have contact with him before the murder of Pettigrew) and yet he did not behave as if he was unhinged at the time.

Two days later the man was arrested for murdering twelve non-magicals and one wizard in a huge explosion in the middle of London and reportedly insane. The moving image of Black laughing hysterically with tears pouring down his face as he was dragged away by aurors troubled Takashi. He wasn't laughing triumphantly and there was no maniacal glee hidden in the depths of his eyes as one would expect of an insane murderer. In fact, his eyes were wild with grief, disbelief, and above all guilt. Even the words the man had supposedly babbled while he was being hauled away didn't sound right to Takashi's mind; _My fault… I as good as killed my brother. All my fault… I killed them. Oh, Merlin, it's all my fault._

Halloween night that year would provide another shift in the pattern.

The week leading up to Halloween saw Ryuu becoming extremely jumpy; the fact that he'd nearly been killed on Halloween night during the previous two school years sitting in the forefront of his thoughts as All Hallows Eve loomed steadily closer. That holiday weekend also saw the first approved Hogsmeade weekend for the students and Ryuu allowed Neville, Hermione, and the twins to talk him into joining them in spending the day stocking up on candy, picking up a few harmless pranks, and just spending the day outside of the castle. He felt a little bad about leaving Luna behind (since she was only a second year) but offered to buy her some peanut butter and jelly fudge as an apology for leaving her alone.

Professor Lupin, Hatake-sensei, and Moody escorted the students from the castle to the gates where a squad of aurors replaced the usual dementors that were guarding the school; an effort by the Ministry to limit the students' exposure to the demonic creatures. Once outside the gate, Lupin and Moody moved off to patrol the village while Hatake disappeared from sight as he followed Ryuu and his friends; his presence unseen and unfelt by students and villagers alike as he shadowed their group.

The first half of their day in the village passed pleasantly enough as they browsed through the various stores and made their purchases. Ryuu went a little wild in Honeydukes, loading up on various types of chocolate bars, assorted fudges, Pigeon Pies (tastier than owl treats!), and Kat-nip Kakes (a cat animagus's favorite treat! Loved by kneazles too!). They then spent an hour in the Three Broomsticks warming up over a mug or two of butterbeer, Ryuu ordering a couple of bottles to take with him later, before they wandered back outside.

Hermione then convinced the group to visit the Shrieking Shack since it was supposedly the most haunted building in the British wizarding world and a historical landmark. Ryuu had always avoided the shack during his holidays in Hogsmeade the previous two years; the old dilapidated building a breeding ground for the demonic youkai that populated the area. By the time they reached the rather isolated building; Ryuu was wound so tight (due to the presence of several youkai that he could sense but not see) that his familiars were showing signs of extreme agitation.

The other children didn't notice his building tension until Ryuu snapped when a shadow darted out in front of him unexpectedly and Ryuu attacked with lightning quick reflexes. Only Hatake's interference at the last second prevented Ryuu from killing the stray dog that had spooked him. The dog in question was currently cringing at Ryuu's feet on its side, whimpering as Hatake firmly held Ryuu's arms; preventing Ryuu from delivering the killing blow – the end of his hanbo hovering just centimeters away from the dog's left eye.

The moment Ryuu realized what he'd almost done, he'd dropped the hanbo as if he'd been burnt and backed up so fast he collided with Hatake. The dog peed itself and yelped as the staff landed on its front legs but didn't do more than cringe and whine as it stared at Ryuu with terrified blue-gray eyes. Only the fact that Hatake hadn't released Ryuu prevented the teen from running away.

The other students shifted nervously as they waited to see what would happen next; the entire incident having caught them completely off guard. After a while, Ryuu stopped trying to escape and sank to his knees as Hatake relaxed his hold. Swallowing thickly, Ryuu stared at the poor dog he'd almost killed; noting the dog's filthy and matted fur and the way its ribs stuck out. Shogun and Tenji hissed at the dog; both familiars instantly disliking the creature but Ryuu simply shushed them by placing a hand over their faces until they calmed down.

When Ryuu reached out to pick up his staff, the dog whimpered and growled weakly but didn't make any move to attack and Ryuu felt guiltier as he feared he might have seriously injured the animal. Sheathing the hanbo back over his shoulder, he pulled out the bag of treats he'd purchased earlier and offered the dog one of the Pigeon Pies he'd bought (for Shogun); an unspoken apology for overreacting. The dog whimpered and licked its lips; not quite trusting Ryuu at the moment.

It eventually accepted the proffered treat and wolfed it down before staring at Ryuu with curiosity. Ryuu offer him a second pie before giving him a bit of the pumpkin fudge he'd bought to try; the dog far less afraid of him by the time he'd finished the food. Ryuu then climbed up onto his feet and leaned into Hatake for a brief moment before turning to leave.

The dog suddenly barked and head butted him and Ryuu flinched a bit before he timidly pat the dog on the head only to gasp in shock as the dog reared up and began attacking him; with his tongue. When he fell over, the dog began poking his nose at Ryuu, making him laugh and squirm because it tickled; his familiars taking refuge on Hatake to avoid the dog. The dog stopped suddenly and looked at Ryuu in confusion as he'd not made a single sound the entire time and the dog walked right up to stare Ryuu in the face as he whimpered at him again. Ryuu gave the animal a tiny smile and pushed the dog's face out of his way so he could stand back up.

This time when he tried to leave the dog grabbed hold of his shirt and tried to tug him in the opposite direction of the castle and Ryuu frowned at the strange behavior. When the dog whined again, Ryuu figured that it was just hungry and offered it one last Pigeon Pie before slipping away while it was occupied with the treat, his friends falling into step beside him while Hatake watched the dog with a frown before vanishing once more to resume his duty as Ryuu's bodyguard. Ryuu remained subdued after that, his earlier good mood completely vanishing as they called it a day and headed back to the castle.

Once inside the castle, the group split up, Ryuu apologizing to his friends before heading off to Ravenclaw Tower by himself despite his friends' protests and concerns. Hatake, with Ryuu's familiars still clinging to him, followed at a discreet distance wondering what was going through the boy's mind but guessing that he was dwelling on his loss of control. The tableau that Ryuu found upon entering the common room turned his already dark mood volcanic as he found several older students teasing and taunting Luna; Himiko crying out piteously as the albino kneazle was cruelly being held just out of Luna's reach by her oldest tormenter.

Like when the dog had startled him earlier, Ryuu exploded into action. Unlike his earlier actions, Ryuu was in complete and utter control as he swept through Luna's tormenters with precision; dropping each of them to their knees before they even knew what was happening. Himiko was promptly rescued and returned to Luna who retreated while Ryuu turned to face the five older teens as they slowly climbed to their feet nursing bruised knees and pride.

"Stupid brat, what'd you do that for? We were teaching Loony a lesson… we're tired of hearing about her non-existent creatures," the oldest spat as she glared at Ryuu.

Ryuu glared right back at her in return as he pulled out his whiteboard from his bag and wrote out two sentences in crisp, harsh lines; _I am going to make you eat your own words. I'm going to prove you are wrong!_

Ryuu dropped his purchases as he pulled out his ocarina and a piece of chalk. He then stalked over to the nearest table and shoved everything off of it before climbing up on top. By now he had the attention of the entire common room and Hatake watched intently; curious to see what Ryuu was planning on doing (the older wizard not having seen his written reply to the other student). Kneeling on top of the table, Ryuu began sketching out a series of symbols and shapes; his strokes even and sure as he never hesitated.

When the circle was complete, Ryuu tossed the chalk onto the floor and stood on top of the eye in the very center of the circle as he let out a piercing whistle that drew the attention of every student in the tower; including those that had been in their dorms. Ryuu then whistled for Shogun and the owl flew to his shoulder as Ryuu addressed everyone who was watching; those that had learned to read sign language translating for those who had not (their Ravenclaw nature pushing them to learn how to read sign because they couldn't stand not knowing what Ryuu was saying).

_You condemn Luna because she sees what you do not believe can exist; you ridicule her because you lack the willingness to look beyond what you believe is reality. There are billions of non-magical people in this world who say that we don't exist and here we stand! I want each and every one of you to see what you have missed your entire life and then I want you to think about how you have treated Luna just because she has a gift that you can not possibly understand._

Ryuu then reached into his shirt and lifted off the protective amulet that he wore at all times as he lifted Shogun down off his shoulder and gave the corded necklace to the owl before launching the bird into the air. Slowly at first and then in a rush of tiny lights; hundreds of tiny fairies no larger than a first year's pinky finger swarmed over Ryuu as he stood tall in the center of the runic circle. The tiny beings wove themselves into his hair, clung to his clothes, sat on his glasses, and hovered around him in a cloud ten times thicker than the one that always followed Luna.

And then Ryuu lifted his flute to his mouth and called on his magic as he played a delicate tune that hovered just out of range of human hearing. The fairies around him shimmered and danced as other creatures began joining them; tiny horses with the wings of butterflies, foxes the size of house cats with three and four tails, round creatures made up entirely of white fur, and small beings that looked something like a cloth doll with pointed arms and legs and small round heads. There were close to a thousand creatures crowding around Ryuu; each of them desperately struggling to reach out and touch him as he stood there trembling while his song steadily played on.

Suddenly, several of the students watching began screaming as the enormous head of a wolf shimmered into existence just above Ryuu's head, its white face covered with strange red markings and its gold eyes filled with intelligence and disdain as it stared out at them.

"_**You called for me, Natsume-kun?**_" Madara growled out making the students scream a second time as they backed away from the table Ryuu was standing on.

Ryuu stopped playing and turned to face the giant wolf spirit, reaching out to tangle his fingers in Madara's long fur as he fought not to panic at the feel of hundreds of youkai touching and grabbing at him. Ryuu then whistled for Shogun and the owl swooped over to perch on Ryuu's shoulder once more, the youkai scattering as the amulet's power effectively chased them away. Taking his necklace back from the owl, he dropped it down over his head as Madara stepped onto the table with one paw before he changed back into his cat form with a puff of smoke as Ryuu knelt down and wiped away the chalk with his sleeve; destroying the circle he'd made.

When he finished, he whistled a second time and Tenji scrambled down from Hatake's shoulder and dove into Ryuu's bag before emerging with a slim wooden case in his mouth. The kneazle brought the case to Ryuu who opened it and pulled out his etching tool that he'd been given once he'd earned his certificate of mastery in calligraphy. Ryuu then charged the tool with magic and began carving words onto the table with deep, even strokes.

When he finished, he stepped off the table and gathered up his belongings before collecting Luna and disappearing from the tower with his familiars in tow. Curious, Hatake moved forward to read what Ryuu had written on the table and couldn't help the chuckle he let out at the appropriateness of the quote.

_There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,  
>Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.*<em>

Halloween evening found Ryuu sitting nervously at the end of the Ravenclaw table with Luna and her friend as the feast prepared by the house elves appeared on the table. He kept glancing over his shoulder as if expecting someone to leap out and attack him. It didn't help that he was once again the center of attention as his fellow Ravenclaws spread the word of what he'd done in the common room the night before; the speculation making it seem as if Ryuu had the power to summon demons or create elaborate illusions that were so lifelike as to appear real.

Luna had been beaming non-stop since Ryuu pulled his stunt; he had inadvertently given her the means to bring a small measure of peace to her father in the form of a circle that would allow him to share a small fraction of the world Luna and her mother had always been able to see. (Taki never discussing the circle with anyone outside of family because of what had happened when she first started using the circle and how that one terrible youkai had intended to kill her and those whose names she'd spoken after seeing him.)

The knowledge that Luna's little fairies were true, non-magical youkai (that had somehow not been driven insane and become demonically twisted by foul magic) had not yet sunk in for Ryuu. He'd been under the impression that all of the witches and wizards could see them because they had been able to see the other youkai he'd encountered on the castle grounds. It would take him a few more days to recognize the significance of just how much he and Luna had in common which would in turn strengthen their bond of friendship.

By the end of the feast Ryuu was feeling oddly hopeful as he'd managed to not only attend the feast for the first time since starting Hogwarts; but he'd not been attacked by anything over the course of the day. He didn't count the previous day as that had seemed completely unrelated to the events that always swirled around Halloween inside Hogwarts.

He was thinking he just might survive the night without anything traumatic happening as they were dismissed for the night and the students began drifting back to their common rooms. He should have known it was too good to be true as twenty minutes later all the students were back in the Great Hall, huddling together in fear and nervousness in cushy purple sleeping bags while the adults combed the castle for Sirius Black.

Black had slipped through the security of the castle and attacked the guardian of the Gryffindor's entrance and it was believed to be sheer luck that no one had been traveling the halls at the time.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – idiot  
>Himiko – shaman queen of Yamataikoku according to historical records from China, early Japanese histories do not mention Himiko, but historians associate her with legendary figures such as Empress Consort Jingū, who was Regent (ca. 200-269) in roughly the same era as Himiko.<br>Yamataikoku – name of an ancient country in Japan (also called Yamaichikoku)

**Notes:**

*Quote: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.  
>From: Shakespeare's Hamlet (Act 1, scene 5, 159–167)<p>

* * *

><p><strong><span>WARNING:<span>**_ Chocolate is toxic to most (if not all) animals and should not be fed to any pet. The sharing of chocolate between Ryuu and his familiars in this chapter is strictly a fictional situation that I created for the purposes of this story and is not a reflection of my personal practices in regards to my pets (my snakes don't like chocolate; they prefer something a little fuzzier)._

_In this story; kneazles and postal owls are magical creatures with magical abilities and characteristics that set them apart from their more common counter parts (cat or owl). As such, chocolate will not harm any of the magical familiars that appear in this story. Additionally, all chocolate that is being offered to the familiars in this story are magically created chocolates and as such any potentially poisonous toxins have been filtered out magically in order to prevent any problems that are normally associated with the feeding of chocolate to a real animal._

**AN:** _A bit of drama, a dash of angst, some cute fluff, and hints of intrigue; this chapter was just stuffed with information that I wanted to get out there (such as Luna's past and a hint of her abilities). I'm sure some people are probably angry or upset about me sidelining Ginny the way I did in this chapter but she just didn't have the support of friends and family the way the others did. As far as I'm concerned she needs the help to deal with the trauma of her first year and she'll eventually be back._

_I'm not bashing Ginny or any of the other Weasleys, they just aren't the focus of this story… well Ron might get a bit banged up… canon Ron has always annoyed me because he's such an immature git. I realize at this point he's still just a snot-nosed kid but even in canon he'd not grown up any by book seven; not really. So, you don't expect to see much of the youngest two Weasleys as they really don't have much of a role in this story and will only pop up occasionally in passing. The main reason for that is because I didn't want to bash them this time around like I have in a few other stories. _

_Anywho… hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I hope to have the next chapter up fairly soon. ~ Jenn_

**09-01-12:** _Chapters 10, 11, & 12 have just been replaced with minor edits and corrections. There were no major changes made to any of the chapters so there really is no need to go back and re-read them unless you wish to. More chapters will be updated when I post chapter 27._


	27. Wild Dogfathers Do Not Make Good Pets

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 26: Wild Dogfathers Do Not Make Good Pets<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>November 1993 ~ May 1994<em>

Two weeks after Black had managed to break into the castle, Ryuu's friends had finally gotten tired of his moping and constant edginess and they'd dragged him outside to the Quidditch Pitch. Ryuu wasn't much of a fan of Quidditch but he loved flying and he hadn't been on a broom since first year for many reasons; the chief among them the fact that he didn't own a broom. Hatake was once more shadowing the group (as was Nyanko) to make certain there'd not be an incident while they were outside in the afternoon. Now while Ryuu didn't own a broom and the school's brooms were limited to the Quidditch players and first years learning how to fly, the Weasley twins owned a fine pair of Cleansweep Fives that were in good condition if a bit outdated.

With only two brooms amongst the entire group, those that wanted to fly were forced to patiently wait their turns; though some like Neville and Hermione didn't care for flying and were content just to watch. Fred gallantly passed Ryuu his broom the moment they entered the pitch and Ryuu had given the older boy a huge grin before passing Tenji to Luna so he could climb onto the broom while Shogun took off into the air with a challenging whoot. Ryuu was off like a rocket a heartbeat later; his body pressed flat on the broomstick as he shot upwards as fast as the broom would go.

For the first ten minutes, those on the ground just watched as Ryuu and Shogun danced around the stadium at insane speeds; Ryuu's slight build allowing him to eek out more speed than Fred's larger, heavier frame. Soon George joined Ryuu in the air and they began trying to out perform each other with daring aerial feats of sheer madness that left those on the ground gasping for breath and clutching their hearts.

Hatake was never more thankful that the academy in Japan didn't allow students to bring broomsticks to the summer sessions (the only exception being for those that joined the Quidditch League for their elective) as he didn't think he'd have been able to watch Ryuu's stunts had he been two or three years younger. Aside from that, there was one thing that was obviously apparent; Ryuu could fly. He was a natural and he made even the most difficult maneuvers appear easy as he practically became one with the broomstick.

Hidden beneath the stands of the stadium another set of eyes watched Ryuu's aerobatics with hungry and proud eyes. The beast's heart ached for that which was lost as it watched the boy perform effortlessly as if he'd been born on a broom. That he moved in perfect harmony with the owl that was always by his side spoke of a close connection that lent an air of magic to the performance.

When the child dropped to the ground some time later, the black dog whined softly as the boy reluctantly returned the broom to its owner; obviously saddened by the loss. That the child stared hungrily at the sky as the twins brought out a bludger and a pair of beaters bats to practice and show off for the group struck another cord within the beast's heart.

Trouble began when Ryuu ended up borrowing George's broom about an hour later. He'd just taken back to the sky and had looped around the stadium at top speed when thirty dementors, drawn by Ryuu's aura of spiritual power resonating with his magic as he flew, descended on the pitch. They converged on Ryuu like a man dying of thirst would throw himself into the first puddle he came across and Ryuu's body shut down before he could even register their presence.

Fred tried to slow his free fall only to end up pulling the broom out from under the falling boy who was soon plucked from the air by an invisible force. The redhead, seeing that Ryuu was safe, quickly dove down to rescue the plummeting Shogun who had been much higher in the air when he passed out. Hatake had immediately summoned his patronus but it was easily over powered by the number of dementors present.

Madara, on the other hand, had reverted to his spirit form the moment the demons had appeared and lunched himself into the air, nipping Ryuu out of his free fall while at the same time attacking the demonic creatures with his own spiritual power. The bright light cut through the ring of dementors far more effectively than the earlier patronus and the creatures fled back into the forest as Madara dropped lightly to the earth to gently lower Ryuu to onto the grass. That would be the last time Ryuu went flying while there were dementors present at the school. It was also the last time anyone saw Ryuu in a good mood.

The first week of December saw Ryuu's low mood plummet even further when Malfoy provoked a fight during Care of Magical Creatures which the Ravenclaws shared with the Slytherins. (A scheduling change that had been intended to alleviate the violent friction that resulted with the typical Gryffindor/Slytherin classes). Professor Grubbly-Plank had been giving them a lesson on bowtruckles and Ryuu had been working alone as their class had an odd number of students; not that Ryuu minded. Tenji had been stalking the bowtruckle that Ryuu was sketching out while Shogun was sitting on Ryuu's head watching over his back.

Malfoy, thinking he was being both clever and funny, had flung a rock at Ryuu's back and hit Shogun instead because of his poor aim. The owl's sudden screech had set off the bowtruckle which immediately attacked the kneazle that had been playing cat and mouse with it (the tree guardian thinking it was under attack). Ryuu had dove in between his familiar and the dangerously sharp claws of the tree guardian while Shogun had attacked Malfoy.

Ryuu came out of his short battle with quite a few deep scratches while Tenji was unharmed. Shogun was also unharmed but Malfoy was a bloody mess of gashes as the owl had been vicious in its counterattack; the bird had never liked the Malfoy heir. Professor Grubbly-Plank had tried to stun Shogun to end the attack only for Ryuu to immediately slap her wand out of her hand as he called off the owl himself.

Ryuu had then knocked the screaming Malfoy unconscious and grabbed the back of the boy's robes and proceeded to drag him up to the Hospital Wing. Their professor had tried to stop him just once and the lethal glare Ryuu had shot at her had her backing off immediately. Malfoy's friends didn't dare follow Ryuu either; though Pansy Parkinson went running for Professor Snape in the hopes that he'd both save Malfoy and punish Ryuu. Professor Snape did indeed turn up prepared to take charge of the situation only for Hatake and Moody to arrive seconds later on the heels of an agitated Nyanko (the youkai having witnessed the scene from where he'd been lounging in a window over looking the grounds).

Professor Snape became irate when Ryuu refused to allow Malfoy to be levitated; his anger over how close Tenji had come to being gutted by an angry bowtruckle and the attack on Shogun far too close to boiling out of his control for him to even consider relinquishing possession of the one responsible. Moody sent a message for Professor Flitwick and Headmaster Dumbledore to meet them at the infirmary as the three adults trailed after Ryuu. Ten minutes later, all four instructors were immersed in Ryuu's memory and the memory that had been coaxed from an unconscious Malfoy. The evidence was damning; Malfoy had stupidly instigated the incident and paid the consequences.

Both students' parents were brought in and Malfoy Sr. immediately demanded that Shogun be executed because the owl had permanently disfigured Draco's face, leaving three large gashes running from above the boy's right eye down to the left side of his cheek (though once healed they'd be nothing more then three thin lines). Lucius Malfoy would take the case before the Wizengamot when he was stonewalled by Dumbledore, Takashi, and Hatake at the school and because the Minister was in Malfoy's back pocket; Shogun was being put on trial despite the fact that true familiars were protected under the law. Takashi hired Sander Bongledash to represent his son and his familiar and called in a couple of experts that had worked with Ryuu and his familiars in the past (including the animal healer that had treated him last summer and the owner of the store he'd purchased them from).

The case would end up dragging out for most of the year (though Ryuu and Shogun were far removed from most of the circus at Hogwarts). Malfoy Jr. in the mean time had been suspended from class due to his actions and placed under House Arrest (within the castle to prevent his memory from being tampered with by his father) and he would remain sequestered in the Slytherin dorms and common room until the issue was resolved one way or another. Shortly after being notified that charges had been filed against Ryuu and Shogun by Lucius Malfoy, Shogun because he'd attacked Draco and Ryuu because he was the 'owner' of the owl, counter charges had been filed against the younger Malfoy by Takashi.

Professor Grubbly-Plank ended up quitting because of the incident; the middle-aged witch tired of dealing with Malfoy (he'd been a right pest as usual from the moment classes started) and not wanting anything to do with Ryuu after he'd defended his familiar from her wand. Hagrid, who'd been cleared of the charges against him revolving around Myrtle Henderson's death at the end of the previous year, would be taking over the Care of Magical Creatures classes.

A brief break from all of the drama came during the winter holidays as Ryuu and his family left the castle in order to get Ryuu away from the stress of circulating rumors. Hatake joined them so he could offer a measure of protection against the dementors should they come after Ryuu for a third time and keep an eye on the moody teen. The family was met just on the edge of the village by a familiar scraggly stray dog.

The moment Ryuu had glanced at the dog; it had dropped to its belly and whined as it crawled towards him. Tenji and Shogun hissed distrustfully at the creature and the dog stopped moving as it whimpered and whined as if trying to speak. Ryuu had stared at the pathetic canine for a full minute before he sighed and shook his head as he calmed his familiars with a touch.

The dog sat up as Ryuu headed towards home and Ryuu absently ran a hand over its head as he passed by but otherwise gave no encouragement to the stray. Hatake discreetly cast the bond detection spell, wondering if Ryuu had picked up a fourth familiar only for the spell to come up negative (much to Takashi and Taki's relief). The dog still followed Ryuu all the way home where he sat outside the gate and howled pitifully for nearly an hour before Takashi relented and allowed it into the house. Nyanko had stared at the dog for a long time, as if he saw something the others didn't but whatever it was he saw he didn't voice his thoughts out loud.

Ryuu gave the filthy dog a bath and spent an hour grooming him afterwards. Tenji and Shogun had supervised the entire process; both of them making their displeasure known any time the dog did anything they didn't like. When he was finished cleaning up the messes he'd made while cleaning the dog, Ryuu mollified his familiars by lavishing them with extra attention as he made them each their favorite treats. They still didn't like the dog but at least they weren't angry at Ryuu (who was after all just a human and therefore not as perceptive as they were). Ryuu then fixed the dog a light meal and set up a bed for him by the back door before he sat down to get a few non-magical assignments done.

After finishing the modest meal Ryuu had provided him, the dog slowly crept up until he was sitting on the couch beside the boy without Ryuu noticing. When Ryuu continued to work through several worksheets, the dog slowly began leaning against him; looking for all the world like he was looking over Ryuu's shoulder to make certain he was doing the work correctly.

After an hour, the dog stuck its cold nose in Ryuu's ear, making him jump in shock (making the three adults who'd been watching snicker softly). The dog then proceeded to poke him with his nose in the side and back; once again sending Ryuu into a laughing fit over the ticklish attack. The dog barked playfully and renewed its efforts only to seem to grow upset when Ryuu didn't actually make a sound as the dog whimpered and prodded Ryuu's neck repeatedly with its nose.

Catching his breath, Ryuu pushed the dog away and tried to return to his studies only for the dog to plant himself on Ryuu's lap and refuse to move. Huffing, Ryuu poked the dog in the ribs but it didn't budge an inch, it just snorted and closed his eyes. Giving up on moving the rather large dog, Ryuu leaned over him and grabbed his work and proceeded to use the dog as a desk as he continued working. The dog complained for a couple of minutes before he fell asleep on Ryuu's lap.

The rest of winter break found the dog constantly following or watching Ryuu and the more he watched and followed the boy the more the two familiars became agitated until Christmas morning when they suddenly began ignoring the dog; as if they'd finally accepted he was there to stay. Madara also watched the dog frequently during that time, his gold eyes narrowed as he observed the way the dog behaved around Ryuu.

Hatake watched the dog too, the sixth sense he'd developed over his career as a police officer itching whenever the dog did something decidedly un-dog-like but he couldn't quite put his finger on why it bothered him. He did pay less attention after Tenji and Shogun began ignoring the canine; their acceptance easing the feeling of trouble as the two of them were fairly decent judges of character when it came to those meaning harm to Ryuu.

For Christmas that year, Ryuu received his second ever anonymous gift; this time it was a brand new Firebolt broomstick (a professional grade racing broom). Ryuu had looked at it with longing for a full minute before he'd turned it over to Hatake along with the folded cloak he'd gotten in his first year and the note that came with the cloak. Ryuu would have turned over the cloak sooner but he'd forgotten about it because of everything else that had happen in first and second year until the broom showed up without a tag. Both broom and cloak were then taken to the castle and so that both of them could be stripped down and tested for curses or other tampering.

The day Ryuu was to return to the castle, the dog pitched a fit the same as it had the first day Ryuu had met him up by the Shrieking Shack. The dog did not want Ryuu up at the castle; as if he thought Ryuu would be in danger. Takashi had knelt down in front of the dog and met his concerned gaze for a few minutes; trying to determine if the animal was a youkai in an earthly vessel like Nyanko. Finally, Takashi told the dog Ryuu was never alone as he pointed to Hatake, stating that the wizard was protecting his son from anyone who wished him harm. Takashi then pointed to the two cats and the owl currently sitting on Ryuu to prove that even if Hatake wasn't right there with him, the animals would be.

The dog had howled mournfully at that point before slinking off dejectedly.

When the carriages passed between the two dementors guarding the castle gates later that evening, Ryuu stared at the silvery red panda that was sitting placidly on the floor of the coach with an unreadable expression in his eyes. After a minute of staring, he reached out to touch the patronus and to the surprise of Hatake the panda arched into the touch as if it was a real red panda looking for affection and Ryuu's hand did not sink through the magical mist that gave the patronus form. When Ryuu's hand connected with the creature he froze in surprise before he suddenly looked up at Hatake with wide, startled eyes.

_This is how he sees me?_ Ryuu wondered silently as he viewed the memory that Hatake had used to give the patronus life. It had been the memory of the day when Ryuu had first called Hatake, uncle. _I knew he cared… but I didn't know he cared that much; that a simple title could fill one person with so much warmth. _

Wanting to know more about the silvery creature, Ryuu lifted his hands to sign, _Oji? What is it? What makes it so life like? It feels like a youkai only not… and it is something more than just magic. _

"It's a patronus; a reflection of the person who cast it. The spell is fueled by happy memories; the happier the memory the clearer the form the patronus takes. It is the only known spell that repels dementors and lethifolds; the happiness the patronus radiates drives them away or holds them at bay. What exactly did you feel when you touched it?"

_Warmth… and I saw your memory of the day I first called you oji. I felt the emotions you felt in the memory. It's not just a reflection… it is a fraction of your soul and the memory that gave it shape. _

Hatake sat back more than a bit stunned that Ryuu knew exactly what memory he'd used when he performed the spell. He thought back to when he discovered his patronus had changed while chasing the dementors from the Express back in September. When he'd been on the force, his patronus had been a tiger and had been ever since he'd mastered the spell in his second year of training.

The new red panda that had poured from his wand had startled him but when he reflected on the change later he realized that Ryuu was very much like the red panda; a solitary creature that was mostly silent, highly territorial, had a well developed flight or fight response, could be playful, adorably cute, and as a species they are vulnerable and facing endangerment. And Ryuu had become an important part of his life and had changed who he had been. The man was drawn back to the present a moment later when Ryuu addressed him once more.

_Oji…? Can you teach me, please? I… I don't like the way the dementors make me feel. I don't like feeling that vulnerable or the fact that they affect Tenji and Shogun through our bond because of how they affect me. _

"I don't know. The Patronus Spell is a N.E.W.T. level spell that few adults can master or perform consistently. How are your lessons with Kimura-senpai progressing?"

_I'm doing better but… he says my Occlumency was shot to… well a mess because of the dementors which means I've had to start over again and it's harder this time because everything shifted and reality is somewhat skewed. He told me my control is improving but… he said I'm still too inconsistent because I can't stay centered. I could at least try can't I? I need something… something positive to give me hope should I face them again._

"I'll see what I can arrange," Hatake finally replied as he watched Ryuu continue petting the red panda as if it were a kneazle.

The smile Ryuu flashed at him was one of relief and thanks and the brief flash of emotions actually caused the patronus sitting on the floor to flare with a flash of gold for a moment before it settled back into a muted silver glow.

With his classes, tutoring, and extra lessons, Ryuu had very little time to worry about the on-going legal battle Lucius Malfoy was drawing out over the incident his son instigated (though part of Ryuu still worried because if Malfoy should win it was Shogun's life that was on the line). The truth of the matter was that the law was on Ryuu's side; his familiar had reacted to a direct threat. It helped that Ryuu had actually ended the attack before the injuries could turn serious and the disfigurement wasn't that horrible even if it was noticeable; after all, Draco could have lost an eye. The problem was that Lucius had money to burn and he was trying to buy the verdict in order to make Ryuu pay for the attack on his son, for thwarting his plans the previous year, and for the social snub Ryuu gave the Malfoy family when he refused Draco's friendship and guidance during their first year.

Sander Bongledash was fighting tooth and nail on the other side; his desire to cut his former partner down to size fueling his sense of justice and the fact that Takashi had just as much, if not more, money than Malfoy meant that Malfoy didn't have quite the influence he'd hoped he'd have. That Ryuu's character witnesses were respectable professionals and their testimonies were without reproach while those Malfoy called in had less than stellar reputations and often contradicted each other didn't help Malfoy's cause either. Despite that the case would still drag out for another three months.

In February, during the Valentines Day Hogsmeade visit, Sirius Black was once again reported to be seen inside the castle; trying to break into the Gryffindor common room a second time. Once again the attack made no sense though; why would the man attack when there was no one in the tower? It was patently obvious that five-sevenths of the students were not even in the castle.

Lupin was certain the man's sanity had degraded in Azkaban due to the exposure to dementors (even though the Minister had commented that Black had seemed strangely sane during his inspection a week before the escape). Mysteries and inconsistencies aside, the castle was once again on high alert and students were once again being moved through the castle in groups and curfew was strictly enforced while the instructors and staff patrolled the halls diligently once the sun had set.

A couple of days after that war broke out in Gryffindor House as Ron Weasley accused Hermione's cat of eating his rat. Hermione stubbornly defended her monstrous kneazle mix stating that it had never set foot in the boy's dorm with Neville backing her up. Weasley was insistent though; despite the fact that there were at least twenty other cats, kneazles, and kneazle crosses living in Gryffindor Tower.

The dispute put Hermione in a foul mood for days and Ryuu finally got a close up look how his moods affected his friends as he watched how Hermione's affected the others. Ryuu apologized to everyone and treated Hermione to a chocolate feast, much as he had for Luna their first night back (minus the hint of intimacy that had been present that night with the delicate blonde).

His mood lifted a bit when the strange cloak and the Firebolt were returned to him with the news that neither of them had been hexed in any way. He longed to try out the broom but didn't dare risk it when the dementors still surrounding the school. The cloak was actually tucked away into his trunk and forgotten; Ryuu being more interested in preserving it as it belonged to his birth father rather than using it so he never learned it was far more special than he was led to believe. The broom was tucked away as well, waiting for the day when he'd be free to try it out.

At the end of April, Ryuu finally managed to produce a corporal patronus (after three and a half months of hard work). It had been just after he'd returned from the Ministry of Magic where Malfoy's suit against Shogun was finally settled in favor of Shogun (and Ryuu); the laws clearly stating that familiars were protected and since Draco had been antagonizing both animals and Ryuu for over two years, there was no doubt that Draco had created the problem.

Also settled that day was Takashi's suit against the Malfoy family for their son's continued harassment of his son. Takashi won hands down; the verdict influenced by Shogun's trial and Malfoy Sr. ended up paying a fifty thousand galleon fine for his son's foolishness and an additional ten thousand galleons in punitive damages were awarded to Shogun, Tenji, and Ryuu for the duress Malfoy had caused them through the years and for the stress the long drawn out trial had created. Draco Malfoy was withdrawn from Hogwarts that same day and he was transferred to Durmstrang.

When he'd returned to the castle, Ryuu had been so relieved about the outcome that when he'd gone to attend his extra lessons with Hatake he'd produced a fully corporeal patronus on the first try. Takashi and Nyanko, who'd been observing the lesson that night after Ryuu had asked him stay, both fell off their chair when a silvery mirror image of Nyanko-sensei poured out of Ryuu's wand and landed on the floor with all of the grace Nyanko displayed after he'd been drinking sake.

Nyanko had actually head butted his mirror image and froze for a moment before he turned to blink at Ryuu with pure shock. Hatake tried to touch the patronus Nyanko next only his hand slipped right through the magical mist while Takashi was also able to touch the silver cat. All three of them had felt the intense emotions radiating from the silvery form but only Nyanko and Takashi knew which memories had fueled the patronus.

To Hatake's shock, the patronus didn't fade away even after Ryuu stopped supplying magic through his holly wand to power the spell. In fact, the longer the cat stayed around the more concrete it seemed to become until it appeared almost solid instead of ethereal. When the patronus still hadn't faded away after two days, Kimura-sensei had Ryuu dispel it and it took close to an hour to fade away. He then had Ryuu cast the spell again, this time with his cherry wand.

Once again the patronus grew stronger once Ryuu released the spell and as they waited to see exactly how long it would last without Ryuu dispelling it, they discovered that the spell was actually siphoning wild magic directly from Ryuu to fuel itself due to Ryuu's status as a living focus. That led to the discovery that the steady drain of excess magic actually helped stabilize Ryuu's magical core and allowed him to regain much of the control he'd lost due to that same constant influx of wild magic.

From that point forward, it was common place to see a silver cat trundling along behind Ryuu wherever he went; sometimes walking in tandem with Nyanko-sensei which was weird since it was as if the silver cat was an echo of the youkai. The presence of the patronus lifted the spirits of those numbered among Ryuu's friends and family bringing peace and contentment no matter how much stress they were under as the end of year exams began looming near. The first time the cat patronus visited Hogsmeade with Ryuu it faltered when it came into the presence of a single dementor briefly before it suddenly shimmered between silver and gold and pushed the dementors back with just an aura of pure emotion.

* * *

><p>On May twenty-fifth, Ryuu suddenly vanished after his afternoon ju jitsu session with Hatake. He'd finished a few minutes early and had gone to take a shower before turning back two hours in order to attend that afternoon's Herbology lesson. He never showed up to Herbology though and no had seen him after he'd left the dojo.<p>

A check of the Ravenclaw third year boys' dorm showed that he'd made it that far as his book bag had been dumped on his bed along with the gi he'd been wearing during his lesson with Hatake. His wands and his hanbo were no where to be found though nor was there any sign of his two familiars and Nyanko-sensei couldn't sense him on the castle grounds because something was once again interfering with the bond (muting it this time rather than blocking it completely).

Ryuu woke up some time later with a pounding headache as he lay on the floor of a room that was covered with more than an inch of dust. He sneezed a couple of times, making only the barest of noises from the force of air clearing out his nose. When he finally realized his hands had been securely tied behind his back and his feet tied together at the ankles, Ryuu felt reality twist for a moment as he thought for one instant that he was once again back in first year at the mercy of the two faced Quirrell. Only the fact that the chamber Quirrell had taken him to had been free of dust and had been built of stone, not wood, kept Ryuu from completely panicking as he tried to see where he was.

When his eyes fell on the wire cage sitting on a nightstand across the room from him, Ryuu's heart froze in his chest as he caught sight of Shogun and Tenji stuffed into the rather small cage. Neither of his familiars would have had room to stretch out if they'd been inside the cage alone and together they were pressed so close together that they appeared to be some kind of chimera instead of two separate animals. Fury flooded Ryuu in the next instant and he began struggling to free himself so he could free his companions.

It was at that moment a rather wretched looking man shuffled into view holding Ryuu's holly wand. The man looked like he'd been sick for months; as if he'd once been rather fat and had lost a large amount of weight in a very short period of time. He also walked funny, all hunched over as if he was far more used to walking on his hands and knees instead of up on his feet.

Finally, the man's features reminded Ryuu of a rat; the way his nose and mouth were pointed and his front teeth jutted out a bit, the beady eyes that were far too close together, and the sharpened claw-like nails on the tips of his nine fingers. He was twitchy and jumpy like a rat too, constantly in motion as he shuffled back and forth just out of Ryuu's reach.

"How… how did you do it?" the man asked in a high voice that was scratchy from disuse. "I heard what Arthur and Molly said… they said you defeated the Dark Lord last year. How? Tell me how and I will let your pets live. Tell me where my master is now and I'll let one of them go."

Ryuu snarled silently at the threat leveled at his familiars and redoubled his struggles, twisting and turning as he struggled to pull at least his hands free from the cords. The man then used Ryuu's own wand against him, hitting the thirteen year old with a familiar yellow light that racked Ryuu with agony that, while no where near as powerful as Voldemort's Cruciatus, still hurt.

The frantic and pained cries his two familiars made in response to Ryuu's pain only fueled Ryuu's rage though and he continued to struggle once the spell ended some two minutes later despite the pain that sang through his nerves. The man then pointed his wand at the two trapped animals and Ryuu stilled in an instant as his eyes locked onto the man's watery blue eyes; the rage in Ryuu's green eyes promising certain death the moment he was free if he dared harm a single hair or feather on his familiars.

"If you don't cooperate I will make it very painful for you and your pets will die a very slow death," the man promised as he swung Ryuu's wand back towards the floor and fired a blasting spell at Ryuu's favorite ocarina (the flute having fallen out of his pocket during his struggles while under the influence of the pain curse); shattering the clay flute into a thousand pieces. "I know you don't speak… the youngest Weasley boy often spoke of your stupidity. So I'm going to give you a stick and you're going to write your answers in the dust using your mouth or I'm going to start cutting your stupid cat and bird into itty bitty pieces."

Oh that was the wrong thing to say; Ryuu's fury, already at his boiling point because of the situation he found himself in, soared to new heights and helped to mute the pain searing along his nerves from the Cruciatus Curse. Ryuu dropped his head to hide his face, angling his left temple away from the rat-man so he wouldn't see Ryuu's scar start to glow while at the same time giving the appearance of bowing to the man's demands. Just as the man was walking forward with the promised stick (and Ryuu was preparing to attack), a large black blur tackled the man, knocking him across the room and some of Ryuu's anger fled in the face of his shock as he recognized the stray he'd taken care of over the winter break.

Ryuu watched with wide eyes as the dog viciously bit at the man, barking and growling; practically foaming at the mouth as he tried to reach the man's almost non-existent neck. The man was cursing, screaming, and yelling out nonsense; calling the dog black and pad foot as he fought to keep his hands between his face and neck and the dog's sharp teeth. Pulling his eyes away from the violent scene, Ryuu glanced up at his familiars before looking back to where the dog and man were fighting.

Seeing his chance, Ryuu rocked back and forth a couple of times (gritting his teeth because of the renewed pain the movement sent through his nerves) before he threw himself towards his familiars; rolling through the dust towards the rickety nightstand upon which sat their tiny prison. Unable to stop his forward momentum once he crossed the room, Ryuu crashed into the nightstand and knocked the entire thing over, dumping the cage onto the floor where it bounced twice before it snapped open; spilling his familiars out onto the floor.

Tenji gave an angry yowl and immediately threw himself into the fight; a dark whirlwind of fur, teeth, and claws that attacked the rat-man's balding head; the kneazle doing his best to claw the man's eyes out while the dog continued to aim for the jugular. Shogun glided across the floor to Ryuu and landed on his right side, his talons piercing through the thin fabric of his shirt and skin alike and unintentionally adding to the pain Ryuu felt.

The owl then leaned over and began pecking and pulling at the ropes tied around Ryuu's wrists; his sharp beak severing the coarse, dry strands with each strike. It only took a couple of minutes for the owl to break him free and Ryuu quickly pulled the ropes off his chaffed wrists and sat up to free his feet; sucking in a hissing breath at the burning pain of renewed circulation in both hands and feet and the after effects of the Cruciatus Curse.

Once free, he clambered to his feet and checked his right sleeve for his cherry wand only find it missing. He reached over his back and pulled free his hanbo, the rat-man had obviously not recognized it as a weapon as he'd not taken it from Ryuu as he had the two wands. During the time it had taken Ryuu to arm himself, Shogun joined the furious battle and Ryuu shifted gingerly from foot to foot, uncertain as to what he should do. Shaking his head, he brought his hand up to his mouth and gave out a long, sharp whistle; effectively calling off his two familiars and confusing the dog enough that it backed away from the man.

That was all the opening Ryuu needed, and he leapt forward and brought the hanbo down across the man's neck only for the man's right arm to get in the way (in an attempt to block the blow) and a loud snap echoed through the room as the reinforced hanbo broke the bone clean through. The man screamed and rolled away from Ryuu as Ryuu lashed out and kicked the man in the back of the head addling the man but not quite stunning him. Shogun chose that moment to swoop in and claw the man's unprotected face; the owl's talons gouging out his right eye and taking off half his right ear. The disfiguring attack forced the man to drop Ryuu's holly wand as he reached up to cover his new wounds with his hands while he screamed and thrashed about on the floor.

Ryuu dove on his wand and cast the disarming spell; which pulled his cherry wand from wherever the man had stashed it and Ryuu watched Shogun pluck the wand out of the air before he struck out at the man on the floor once more; this time landing a blow on the man's left hip, shattering the bone as the staff was now reinforced with Ryuu's magic. Ryuu then backed away from the man knowing he wouldn't be a threat any time soon and began trying to figure out where he was.

While he was glancing around, the dog growled and made as if to attack the man again and Ryuu quickly blocked the dog's lunge and hustled him across the room. While he wouldn't mind seeing the man dead after what he threatened to do to his familiars; Ryuu might need him in order to get out of there (something he hadn't considered when he first retaliated due to his anger). The dog whined, whimpered, barked, and growled; but Ryuu blocked him at every turn, gently but firmly herding him away from the man as he tried to block out his own pain.

Shogun then shrieked and flew in front of the dog and beat him about the face with his wings until the dog finally dropped to his belly and hid his head. Tenji in the mean time had jumped up onto the window sill of the only window in the room and yowled pitifully before turning to look straight at Ryuu. Ryuu made sure the dog wasn't going to go anywhere before he shuffled over to the window and glanced out to see what had disturbed the kneazle only to close his eyes and mentally curse; there were at least a hundred dementors converging on the building they were in. Turning away from the window, Ryuu whistled to his familiars as he walked over to the now crying and blubbering man that had kidnapped and attacked him and grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

Ryuu then headed for the only door leading out of the room, dragging the man behind him much as he had Draco Malfoy the day the former Slytherin had thrown a rock at Shogun during class. Shogun soared across the room and landed on his shoulder while Tenji imperiously jumped onto their prisoner's chest and began kneading his front paws; his claws slicing through the man's threadbare cloak and tearing at his chest with each push of the paw. The dog that had just saved Ryuu's life and the lives of his familiars followed along behind them; his blue-gray eyes never leaving the man's ruined face as Ryuu searched for a way out of the trap they'd found themselves in.

Meanwhile in the castle, the students had been confined to their common rooms when Ryuu hadn't been found within an hour of his disappearance being discovered; Ryuu's close friends were pulled from their towers so that they could be questioned about when they'd last seen him and if he'd mentioned anything about going anywhere between classes. The Weasley twins then gave the adults the only chance they had of locating Ryuu quickly if he was anywhere in the castle or on the grounds; they revealed they had possession of an amazing artifact called the Marauder's Map. Remus actually kissed Fred on the forehead when the boy unhesitatingly handed over the map before McGonagall escorted the two boys back to their common room.

The wizard then quickly activated the map and spread it out over one of the student desks in the classroom they'd been using to question the children as he, Moody, Hatake, Kimura, and Takashi poured over the map looking for Ryuu's name (once the other adults got over the shock of seeing an interactive map of the castle grounds with real-time tracking of the occupants). Remus manipulated the map with wand and passwords; using every trick that he and his old friends had built into the map. Ryuu's name didn't show up anywhere on the map though. Remus hesitated for a moment before he began searching for Sirius Black instead and when the other man's name didn't turn up either they'd begun to fear that Ryuu had been taken from the grounds.

That was until a tiny dot labeled Padfoot suddenly blossomed on the map inside the tunnel leading away from the Whomping Willow. Remus sucked in his breath and zoomed in on that section of the map when suddenly; Ryuu's name joined the first dot; only his name was written funny as his adopted name was superimposed over his birth name making it difficult to read. Shogun's and Tenji's names soon joined the pair before Ryuu's disappeared off the map once more.

Takashi held his breath while Hatake had actually started heading for the door, not content to wait any longer now that they had an idea of where Ryuu was. Remus's startled curse a second later brought the older wizard back to the map to find two dots had joined those in the tunnel; Ryuu's difficult to read name was back again along with a dot labeled Peter Pettigrew.

"Merlin… if Peter's alive…? Oh hell… why would Peter hide if Black was guilty? Why fake his own death…? Unless… unless Peter was the one…" Remus muttered before he suddenly took off running.

Hatake and Kimura moved to follow their fellow professor when Moody's voice sent a wave of fear through the adults, "There's at least one hundred dementors converging on that tunnel; the kid is heading straight for them."

"Sensei!?" Takashi bellowed as he turned to his friend and protector.

Nyanko dashed towards the window and jumped up into the air as he flipped forward, a puff of smoke filling the room as he reverted to his natural form. A second later one of the large windows in the room exploded outwards as a blast of air knocked everyone off their feet as the wolf spirit launched himself out of the room in a burst of pure spiritual power. Hatake, Kimura, and Moody then followed after Remus while Takashi stared down at his son's tiny dot on the map praying that the wizards and the youkai would make it in time.

In the tunnel, Ryuu paused and leaned against the wall; his arms tired from dragging his prisoner, his wrists and ankles throbbing painfully where he'd chaffed and burned the skin trying to free himself, and the damage done to his nerves from the pain curse only adding to his misery. He could also feel the growing coldness of the dementors' presence seeping through the ground and he knew they were tracking him and that it would only be a matter of time before they found him.

Shaking his head, Ryuu pushed away from the wall and continued on down the tunnel; following the mysterious dog that had appeared from out of nowhere to save him. A few minutes later, they reached the end of the tunnel and Ryuu peered out carefully to find the wildly swinging branches of the Whomping Willow thrashing madly while well over a hundred of dementors circled the entire tree.

_Chikushou,_ Ryuu cursed mentally as he backed a bit down the tunnel.

He brought out his cherry wand once more and tried again to call forth his patronus (which had disappeared sometime between when he'd taken his shower and when he'd woken up inside of the run down house) but for some reason he couldn't get more than a faint mist to appear. He feared that the rat-man had done something to him to mess with his magic but he couldn't be certain; it could easily be his own insecurities affecting the spell since it required positive emotions to work properly and he wasn't exactly in a positive mood at the moment. Beside him the dog whined and dropped down onto his belly.

Ryuu cursed again and wished his favorite flute hadn't been destroyed by the jerk blubbering at his feet. If he had his flute he could have summoned Madara or something else to help him deal with the wretched beings hovering about less than fifty feet away from where he was trapped. Dropping down on the floor, Ryuu closed his eyes and tried to center himself; he needed to get control of himself or they'd end up starving to death or getting caught by the dementors before anyone thought to search for him here (completely unaware of the existence of the map that the adults had just used to find him).

Five minutes later, he tried the spell again and a transparent Nyanko, only half of his original size, shimmered into existence and Ryuu knew it was the best he was going to be able to do at the moment and prayed it would be enough. He carefully slipped out of the tunnel at that point and kept to his belly to avoid the wildly swing branches. When the dog tried to touch a paw to a knot of the trunk of the tree just above the tunnel, Shogun beat him about the head again and chased him away.

Ryuu whistled sharply to bring them back to his side to order and prevent either of them from getting hurt due to inattention as he turned around and reached down into the tunnel to drag his prisoner out. Mirror Nyanko trotted half way towards the dementors before it stopped and sat down. Ryuu felt the weight of the dementors pressing down on him despite the presence of his patronus and he began to fear it wasn't going to be enough. The doubt he felt unfortunately weakened the already weak spell and the silver cat disappeared in a shower of silver dust and Ryuu froze as the full effects of the dementors washed over him.

It was at that moment he saw a silver wolf, a silver red panda, a silver wolverine, and a silver crane crash into the ring of dementors while a silver-white blast of energy crashed down from above as Madara joined the four wizards. Hope rose inside of Ryuu as he saw Lupin followed more distantly by Moody, Kimura, and Hatake heading his way. For that brief instant Ryuu thought he'd be saved and the man who'd attacked him would be punished and maybe, just maybe he could end the year without spending weeks in the hospital or gaining any new scars.

He smiled briefly as he saw the tiny ethereal red panda chasing away two dementors only for his smile to be wiped off a second later as the panda was ripped to shreds as six dementors charged it from behind. One by one the other patronuses were extinguished as well and Ryuu watched in horror as those that had come to save him were slowly being overwhelmed by the sheer number of dementors present. Even Madara was hard pressed to cope with the seemingly endless demons.

Behind him the dog yelped but he paid no mind to his savior when his earlier rage returned tenfold as he witnessed his honorary uncle being picked up by a dementor as his uncle cursed and struggled. The scar on the side of Ryuu's head began to glow bright gold as Ryuu pushed himself up onto his feet, the danger of being clubbed by the semi-sentient tree disappearing under his fury and desperation. Jabbing his wand straight out in front of him, Ryuu poured his anger and growing grief into the Patronus Spell as he recalled the warmth of Hatake's memory of the day Ryuu had called him uncle.

Out of his wand came a silvery-gold patronus completely unlike the one he'd produced less than a month earlier. The night sky disappeared beneath the glow of the life sized wolf spirit that flowed from Ryuu's wand, Ryuu's anger and grief twisting the comforting presence of the Nyanko patronus into a wild and powerful copy of Madara's true form. The wolf then lifted its nose and howled; its voice as silent as Ryuu's as the emotions that fueled it spread out like a shockwave. The glowing silver-gold wolf than launched itself at the dementors surrounding Hatake and tore into them with teeth and claws.

Up at the castle, the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors that were locked inside of their common rooms were drawn to their windows by the bright flashes of light cutting through the dark of night. Half the school stood mesmerized as they watched four silvery animals battled against a swarm of dementors; many students crying out in grief and fear as the four teachers were overwhelmed by the foul demons. Gasps and amazed cries then rang out as a miniature sun suddenly seemed to appear from out of nowhere in order to do battle against the demons.

In Ravenclaw Tower more than half of those watching easily recognized the giant wolf-like creature and they suddenly knew who was down there with their teachers. The rest of the battle was over in short order as the furious silver-gold wolf tore through the dementors as if they were made of paper. Other flashes of light began to flicker and vanish in turns as if something else was fighting alongside the giant glowing spirit but they were too far away to make out the details.

Ryuu had watched impassively as his patronus destroyed the dementors; their bodies exploding into crimson and black dust as they died beneath his fury. He had just began moving forward with the intent to make certain his uncle was alright when the tree he'd been ignoring violently made its presence known as one of its thicker branches caught him low across the chest and sent him flying backwards into the trunk of the tree. He dropped his wand as he struck the tree and dropped roughly into the opening of the tunnel, his left elbow catching on the rim and popping his left shoulder out of the socket on the way down.

Beneath the tree, the dog yelped once more before it suddenly convulsed and reverted into the shape of a gaunt, unkempt man that immediately passed out. A short distance away from the newly revealed Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew crawled to where he'd seen a wand tumble to the ground with his one good eye. Once he had it in his uninjured hand, he tapped his head and shrank in on himself until a badly injured rat stood where the badly injured man once just been (the wand rolling away as his hand became too small to hold it). Shogun took off after the rat while Tenji pushed the knot on the tree to freeze the tree in order to prevent the owl from being hit like Ryuu had been.

Out on the grounds of the castle at the same time as Shogun took off after the escaping rat, Remus Lupin let out a tortured scream as the light of the full moon shown down on him at that moment and he began transforming into a monster. Alastor Moody and Hatake Kakashi picked themselves up off the ground with sheer willpower as they tried to make sense of everything that had just happened. Moody turned around and stumbled backwards just in time to prevent his own untimely death as an out of control Lupin lunged at him; the werewolf having forgotten to take his potion upon discovering that Ryuu was missing. Tenji then rescued Moody from being bitten (or killed) as the kneazle jumped onto the ex-Auror's chest before launching itself at Lupin's face.

To the shock of those who witnessed it, the werewolf yelped and whined as it was chased by a kneazle less than one tenth its size; Remus's oath to Ryuu preventing even the wolf in him from harming the familiar. Madara, the real Madara, dropped down to the ground and sought out Ryuu since he was no longer needed to battle the dementors that his magical twin was currently still chasing down and ripping to shreds. The guardian wolf spirit found the unconscious man first and hummed as he picked up the familiar scent that had clung to the stray dog before he moved closer to the tree following Ryuu's scent.

The youkai soon found Ryuu curled up inside the tunnel beneath the tree; the teen clutching at his left shoulder as he stared up at Madara with eyes that reflected the golden light of his still glowing scar. Reaching his paw down into the tunnel, Madara instructed Ryuu to grab hold of him as best he could so he could pull him out. Ryuu complied, wrapping his uninjured right arm around one of Madara's toes while he sat on the slight curved claw extending from the paw. Madara set Ryuu down on his feet once he was clear of the tunnel and Ryuu diligently searched for his dropped wand after checking to see that his uncle was safe.

In his search, Ryuu discovered that his prisoner had escaped and he silently cursed his failure to restrain the man (though in his defense he hadn't been thinking clearly at the time due to the pain from the Cruciatus he'd been hit with and his concern over the dementors). Putting his escaped kidnapper out of his mind, Ryuu continued his search and hoped that Shogun could corner the man again. Once he recovered his wand, Ryuu slowly made his way out from under the branches of the frozen tree only to stumble across a man he'd only ever seen in old pictures and on wanted posters.

For one brief minute, Ryuu fingered the shaft of his hanbo as he considered ending the man's life right there and then he remembered that this wasn't the man that had kidnapped him and threatened his familiars and he lowered his hand so he could cradle his other arm once more. Madara crouched down beside him, the wolf spirit silently watching over the teen while the wizards dealt with the rest of the mess beyond the reach of the violent tree.

Tired and in pain, yet again, Ryuu wanted nothing more than to return to the castle and wake up to find the entire night had been nothing more than a dream. Bringing his right hand up to his mouth, he let out a shrill whistle to call his familiars back from where ever they had vanished to; all thoughts of trying to recapture his prisoner fading as the pain from the curse began multiplying with each beat of his heart. He whistled a second time hoping the dog that had saved him would return as well since he hadn't seen him since he'd climbed up out of the tunnel. He then glanced down at the man lying unconscious on the ground and wondered what he should do with him when Madara solved his dilemma by picking the man up by the back of his tattered robes with his mouth.

Ryuu was just clearing the last of the branches when Shogun dropped down out of the sky and landed on his left shoulder where he usually perched only to squawk and take back to the sky when Ryuu staggered sideways from the pain of the owl's slight weight on his dislocated shoulder. Ryuu whistled softly to call the owl back and held out his right hand for the bird to land on before moving him to his right shoulder, knowing Tenji wouldn't mind. He was met a few steps later by a concerned Hatake who swept him up into his arms and hugged him for the first time (dislodging the owl a second time); not counting the time Ryuu had turned to the man for comfort at the end of his first year.

If not for the pain his current position was causing him, Ryuu would have been content to remain in the man's arms for a few minutes longer. Unfortunately, the way the man was holding him and the way his arm was positioned were tripling the pain in his shoulder and his bruised chest from where the tree had smashed into him and setting his curse damaged nerves on fire again. It took Ryuu kicking the older wizard in the kneecap a couple of times to get him to let him down.

Hatake looked hurt at being rebuffed until Ryuu rolled his eyes, slapped the man in the stomach in rebuke (something Hatake often did to his students during their lessons when they made a mistake), and gestured to his obviously dislocated shoulder before he carefully leaned against the man, turning so his left side wouldn't bear any weight from the contact. Hatake apologized when he realized he'd aggravated his injuries before carefully pulling Ryuu close again and the thirteen year old made no further protest despite the fact that being touched aggravated the pain dancing through his nerves.

Moody joined them a couple of minutes later, the grizzled ex-Auror levitating an unconscious Kimura behind him; there was no sign of Lupin, Tenji, or the dog. Ryuu worriedly glanced around and let out another sharp whistle hoping his familiar would turn up soon along with the dog. He didn't sense any distress through his bond so he wasn't too worried about the kneazle but he had never taken quite so long to answer Ryuu's whistle before.

He was about to let out yet another whistle when he heard a loud meow coming from behind Madara and he glanced over his shoulder in time to see a smug Tenji trotting towards him with his tail held high as the tufted tip flicked back and forth as if he was balancing a joke on the tip of his tail. Ryuu sighed in relief and smiled at the kneazle as he stepped away from his uncle and gingerly knelt down to check Tenji for any injuries.

"We should get off the grounds; it's not safe out here with Lupin running wild," Moody growled in his gruff voice. "Can't count on the furball to chase him off a second time and we've got injuries that need to be tended. Not to mention there's still a few dementors floating around and I didn't see where that glowing monstrosity that saved our arses disappeared to."

Ryuu shook his head and snorted silently as he wearily climbed back to his feet and began limping towards the castle slowly, picking his way carefully over the uneven ground so he didn't jar his arm or his damaged nerves. His large patronus joined them when they were halfway back to the castle; the wolf-spirit falling into step behind Ryuu while Black hovered in Madara's unseen jaws, appearing as if he was being levitated instead of carried. Just before they entered the castle, Ryuu stopped and turned around to search the castle grounds; his eyes seeking any sign of the dog or his former captor turned captive. When he didn't see them, he sighed and scowled down at a rock sitting in front of him and wished he felt up to sending it flying across the courtyard.

"Ryuu-kun?" Hatake called softly, startling the teen a bit as the man had never before called him by his first name. "Whatever is bothering you, we can deal with it later; we need to get your injuries looked at as well as find out how serious Kimura-senpai's condition is."

Ryuu tensed for a second before he nodded and turned to follow Moody through the door.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Chikushou – damn  
>Ojiojisan – uncle

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I'm sure there are a few readers out there that are complaining about how un-canon the events in this chapter turned out but in my defense I gave everyone fair warning that I'd be playing fast and loose with canon in both verses; more so in the HP world than in the Natsume world though. Personally, I've read the same canon seen played out so many times that writing the scene close to canon puts me to sleep. Plus, so few people actually make Peter evil enough or maybe desperate enough to kidnap Harry; especially considering just how many opportunities the rat had to do so during Harry's first three years at Hogwarts. _

_Next, I've had a few people asking me about Ryuu's Yujincho and the youkai and when they'd be playing a larger role in the story and all I'm going to say at this point is that it will happen and ask that you be patient as there are a dozen and one other things that have to happen first. I'd say more but then that would give away too many plot points._

_Lastly, there were no chapter updates uploaded this time as I didn't make the time to go through the next group of chapters because I was getting a little burnt out on editing. I've also been having trouble focusing on writing no matter which story I've attempted to work on which is annoying since I have so many on-going projects that I can't finish because my brain is fried. Hopefully, I can jump-start my brain here soon so I can start posting a few sequels to stories I've already posted but I make no promises. _

_Anyway, enough blathering… I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and I'll post the next one when I can talk myself into helping me concentrate enough that I can edit and clean it up. ~ Jenn_

**09-08-12:**_ Tried posting this chapter yesterday but for some reason the site wasn't letting it be viewed even though I could see it in the live preview so I deleted it and reposted it. Hopefully it will work this time. Jenn  
><em>


	28. Twisted Tales and Trying Times

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 27: Twisted Tales and Trying Times<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>May 1994 ~ June 1994<em>

By the time their small, battered group reached the Hospital Ward there was a veritable army of political, military, legal, and diplomatic figures assembled both inside and outside of the infirmary. Ryuu shuffled to a stop as he viewed the lines of opposition that had been drawn and wondered what he had missed while he'd been caught up in yet another troublesome and unwanted adventure. The first faction was led by a pompous little man in an expensive lime green suit crushing a lime green bowler hat in his hands and contained a number of political figures and six burly aurors.

Ryuu easily recognized the short one as Cornelius Fudge (the English Minister of Magic) and the man standing behind him as Lucius Malfoy. He also recognized the rather ugly witch that was shorter than the minister with an unpleasant expression on her face and two more wizards that had been at Shogun and Malfoy's trials but could recall their names right that moment. There was also a pair of dementors hovering beside that group that were being contained by a trio of just barely corporeal patronuses.

A second faction was led by Ryuu's father and included Sander Bongledash, a representative from the Japanese Magical Magistrate's office, England's Magical Ambassador from Japan, Professor Flitwick, a woman wearing a monocle whose face Ryuu recognized but whose name he couldn't recall, Augusta Longbottom, and several more Aurors. The third group was mostly comprised of the school's faculty lead by Headmaster Dumbledore, several staff members, two members of the school's board of governors, and strangely Headmaster Yamamoto. The fourth and final group was made up of just two people; Madam Pomfrey and Healer Inoue.

Dumbledore was calmly standing with his hands folded behind his back as he watched the other three groups while those standing beside and behind him were displaying various states of anger, worry, and disgust. Except for Headmaster Yamamoto who appeared even more serene than Dumbledore as the Japanese wizard stood with his arms folded across his chest, his hands tucked inside the sleeves of his formal kimono, and his face a blank mask. Madam Pomfrey and Healer Inoue were trying to eject two of the other three groups from the ward; the Minister's in particular as that group appeared to be in conflict with everyone else considering that was the group that had brought the dementors into the school and into the infirmary of all places.

The Minister's voice rose and fell in agitation as he blustered, bullied, bellowed, and bartered in order to get his way. His voice grating on Ryuu's ears almost as much as Lucius's oily tones that could be heard just below the Minister's. Standing in direct conflict with the Minister was Ryuu's father; his voice level, calm, and full of unrestrained fury as he castigated the English Minister of Magic for sheer idiocy with polite words that had many of the Japanese wizards present smirking with delight as the 'muggle' father of a 'foreign upstart' cut the pompous windbag down to size and ground him in the dirt while said wizard didn't even realize it.

If Ryuu had not been in quite so much pain, he might have enjoyed the show a bit longer; as it was his shoulder throbbed, his wrists and ankles burned, his chest ached to the point where it was starting to hurt to breathe, his entire body felt like it was on fire, and all the yelling the Minister was doing was giving Ryuu a headache. Pulling his hanbo back out from the sheath on his back, he placed on end on the floor and balanced it in the crook of his right elbow before he lifted his right hand up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle that cut through the room like a hot knife through butter. Everyone turned sharply to view the new arrivals and Takashi let out a sigh of relief to see Ryuu standing there in virtually one piece.

"Now see here, boy…" the Minister indignantly spluttered only to be cut off when Ryuu let out a second whistle that was louder and longer.

He then grasped his hanbo and slammed the end of onto the floor before leveling a glare at everyone who was currently blocking his entrance into the infirmary. When that didn't get any results; Ryuu stepped backwards and side ways so that his glowing scar was visible to those inside the room while his enormous patronus pushed through the crowd in order to clear the way. As the spirit wolf passed through, it casually destroyed the two dementors with a snap of its jaws before it squashed the other patronuses like bugs beneath its paws. That set the Ministry's side to shrieking in anger until the spirit-wolf turned its glowing golden eyes on them and they felt the brunt of Ryuu's unbridled fury that had given birth to the powerful guardian.

Ryuu followed in the wake of his patronus, Hatake and Moody stepping up behind him with Kimura in tow, and Madara bringing up the rear carrying Sirius Black. Minister Fudge regained just enough backbone to order the aurors on his side to immediately take Black into custody. The moment the six men drew their wands, Ryuu's familiars placed themselves between the Aurors and the unconscious criminal while Ryuu froze and turned his head to face the Minister. Hatake, Flitwick, and Madam Longbottom all moved to stand behind the familiars and drew their wands; the three of them knowing the familiars wouldn't protect the criminal without reason.

"I suggest that you order your aurors to lower their wands," Takashi ordered sharply. "If any one of them fires a single spell at my son's familiars, even a harmless one, I will see that each and every one of you are sentenced to prison for threatening my son; including you Minister Fudge, since you are the one who ordered them to attack. That's if my son doesn't take matters into his own hands; as is his right."

The Minister blustered and insisted that they were obstructing justice right up until the end of Ryuu's hanbo ended up two inches in front of his face. The dried blood staining the end making the cowardly wizard swallow thickly as he quickly backed away from the obviously dangerous piece of wood. Ryuu stood there with his hanbo rigidly held out as Madara moved into the room and placed Black on one of the beds while Tenji and Shogun took up protective stances; the owl on the rail of the bed while the cat sat on the man's chest. Once the threat to his familiars seemed to pass, the aurors standing down reluctantly; Ryuu resheathed his staff and limped over to his father.

Ryuu's control cracked just a little as he looked up at his father and his anger vanished a moment later as he swayed on his feet. Takashi caught him before he could fall and Ryuu winced as his shoulder and chest were jarred while his nerves were set on fire again. As Takashi swept Ryuu up into his arms and carried him to the bed beside the one where his familiars watched over Black, Dumbledore cleared the room with the help of a few others while a small handful of wizards migrated to Ryuu's bed.

Healer Inoue moved to start healing Ryuu while Madam Pomfrey began running scans on Kimura; checking to find out if the wizard had been kissed or if he was just suffering from the effects of the dementors and magical exhaustion. Moody moved to sit in the chair beside Black's bed while Hatake sat on the end of Ryuu's bed. Professor Flitwick handed a bar of chocolate to Moody and another to Hatake before he sat in between the two beds, his concern over his student's condition easily apparent.

The only other three people to stay were two of the aurors that had stood in the group with his father and the woman with the monocle that Ryuu had recognized but couldn't name. The two aurors joined Moody in watching over the unconscious criminal while the woman walked over to Ryuu's patronus where it had settled directly across the room from Ryuu's bed.

"Fascinating," the woman murmured. "I have never seen a corporeal patronus this color, this large, or this solid before. There are stories of a wizard once having a patronus the size of a giant but I always believed it to be an exaggeration. And for it to have destroyed the dementors so effortlessly as well as canceled out the patronuses of seasoned aurors is mind boggling. Why hasn't its presence faded?"

"He will stay until my son dismisses him, Bones-sama," Takashi replied as he stepped back out of the way to allow the healer to help his son. Takashi then joined Madam Bones beside the spirit wolf and reached out to touch the patronus curious to know what memory and emotion had fueled this version only for the real Madara to stop him.

"_**Don't, Natsume, you will not like what you will see. It is not pleasant.**_"

Takashi frowned as he turned to glance at the wolf before letting his eyes drift to his son who was currently cringing as Healer Inoue manually snapped his left shoulder back into its proper place.

"_**While the memories he used were happy, the creature is fueled by pure rage and unimaginable grief.**_"

"Can a patronus be fueled by anger and grief?" Takashi asked loudly as he glanced sharply back at Madara at that revelation.

"No; patronuses can only fueled by happy memories and positive emotions," Madam Bones replied automatically as she turned to frown at Takashi who was staring at an empty space beside him.

"How certain are you about that?" Takashi countered, drawing the attention of Hatake and Professor Flitwick.

"Why do you ask, Mr. Natsume?" Flitwick inquired.

"The form my son's patronus took is Nyanko-sensei's natural form whereas this morning his patronus was Nyanko's earthly vessel of a lucky cat. This form… this is the form Nyanko fights in; it does not radiate warmth and happiness unlike the previous form his patronus had taken. Nyanko-sensei told me, just now, that this form was fueled by pure rage and unimaginable grief even though the memories tied to it are pleasant."

"When that patronus first appeared it let out a wave of rage that swept over the grounds before it attacked," Hatake added. "It was vengeance and justice and it didn't chase away the dementors; it destroyed them. Out of the hundred plus dementors that were down there attacking Ryuu-kun, less than a dozen of them were able to flee; the rest of them were destroyed just as easily as the ones it destroyed in the ward just now."

"Over one hundred…?" Madam Bones repeated. "There wasn't supposed to be more than ten total any where near the school. Either someone allowed the damn things to breed, someone sent more of them without my permission, or the damn things acted on their own."

"I counted one hundred thirty-seven on the map before the dots overlapped too much to count them all," Takashi stated quietly as he turned away from the beautifully tragic patronus and stared at his son, who was currently sitting up with his shirt off having his ribs scanned for fractures; a lurid purple and black bruise covering the upper third of the teen's chest with a matching bruise encircling his shoulder from the dislocation. Unseen from where he was standing, Ryuu's back was a near solid bruise from just below his shoulders all the way down to his lower back centered along the spine where he'd hit the trunk of the Whomping Willow.

"Kuso, my son was just finally nearing a complete recovery from last year's mess… once again he's become a walking bruise with who knows what other internal injuries. I don't know how much more of this I can take; it kills me each time I see him like this."

"He walked away from the fight this time," Hatake murmured as he too turned around to examine Ryuu's visible injuries. "That's far better than how the previous three times ended or how his previous two encounters with the dementors affected him."

"Does your son know how to prepare his memories so that they can be copied for viewing?" Madam Bones inquired as she critically studied the bruised thirteen year old.

"Yes, I dare say he's had more than enough practice at it."

Madam Bones crossed over to Ryuu's bed and sternly asked him for his memory of what had happened that evening. Ryuu dropped his chin to his chest and leaned forward as Healer Inoue healed the abrasions on his back from the bark of the tree before spreading the bruise balm over his entire back to speed up the healing process. When Ryuu looked up again he nodded before closing his eyes so he could focus on the entire memory; once he had it he opened his eyes and signed that he was ready.

As if he'd timed his entrance to that exact moment, Headmaster Dumbledore strode regally into the Hospital Wing with Headmaster Yamamoto at his side; Dumbledore carrying his pensieve in his hand. All those present except the tall black Auror that Madam Bones instructed to stand guard over the prisoner, the two healers, and their two patients entered the pensieve to view Ryuu's memory.

The memory started with Ryuu walking out of the bathroom, freshly showered and wearing just a clean pair of pants. He'd just pulled on his shirt, slipped on his robes, tucked his wand holsters into his sleeves, and buckled the sheath of his hanbo in place across his back when the memory suddenly went black; no flash of light and no indication that an attack was about to happen. It was troubling to the school staff viewing the memory that the attack had occurred inside the Ravenclaw Tower since the Dorms were supposed to be protected against such things.

After an indeterminate stretch of blackness, the memory shimmered back into existence before solidifying to reveal the run down interior of the Shrieking Shack. The first true shock the adults received happened the moment they came face to face with a very much alive Peter Pettigrew looking worse for wear. After that it was one shock after another as Pettigrew demanded information about Voldemort, demanded to know the whereabouts of Voldemort, and admitted to serving Voldemort.

Just the fact that he was actively searching for Voldemort was more than a little disturbing. The knowledge that the man had used the Cruciatus on the thirteen year old and held the curse for over two minutes had those that had known Ryuu for years swearing up a storm while the aurors and other law enforcement officers present were impressed that the teen had managed to continue functioning despite the severe pain he must have been feeling. The way Ryuu handled himself during that part of the ordeal showed him to be in partial control of himself if not in complete control of his emotions at the time.

He actually remained pretty levelheaded considering his age, his past experiences, and the fact that he was near helpless at the time. Moody praised the boy's planning and tactics when he used the dog's sudden appearance to free his familiars instead of just sitting there. That his owl was the one who freed him and the kneazle joined the fight instead of fleeing confirmed just how close of a bond Ryuu shared with the two animals. The viciousness of the three animals' attack on Pettigrew was not quite as shocking Ryuu's violent attack as he at first attempted to kill the man before he incapacitated him instead and then prevented the dog from killing the man; a wild angry dog that looked to be completely insane.

The rest of the memory took their breath away as Ryuu discovered the dementors, dragged Pettigrew through the house, followed the dog hesitantly when it showed the way out, and headed for the confrontation with the dementors. Takashi felt his heart stop when Ryuu witnessed the four adults being overwhelmed by the dementors, he stopped breathing at the sheer fury etched on Ryuu's face when the teen witnessed Hatake about to be kissed, and he nearly fainted when the tree smashed into him and they witnessed how he'd dislocated his shoulder.

Only Takashi could see and hear Madara in the memory so to the others it appeared as if Ryuu levitated himself out of the tunnel and then levitated Black with just a glance. Takashi laughed weakly when Ryuu kicked Hatake in the kneecap before using the wizard's disciplinary tactics against him because the man hadn't known how badly Ryuu had been hurt at first. The memory then went through the entire scene that happened shortly after the group arrived at the hospital and ended with Ryuu giving Madam Bones permission to take the memory.

As the adults left the pensieve, more than a few of them gave Ryuu speculative glances; those with military or law enforcement backgrounds especially because Ryuu had shown great potential. Takashi was just happy that his son was in one relative piece and not emotionally traumatized (well at least not to the extent that he regressed to the point he was at the end of his second year).

Moody, Hatake, and Takashi provided their memories from the night next which took far longer to view since they had not lost an indeterminate amount of time while unconscious. The sight of the tiny kneazle chasing off the fully grown werewolf was just as shocking and amusing as it had been the first time it had been witnessed. Only those who'd given oaths to Ryuu understood how it was possible since the wolf was a magical part of Lupin and he'd sworn to never harm him or his familiars. It was possible that Ryuu could have stood right in front of Lupin and not been at risk from the werewolf (not that any of the adults would suggest they try to prove it).

Ryuu was dozing when they'd finished, Nyanko-sensei curled up on the pillow beside the teen's head rubbing his nose against the barely visible scar on Ryuu's left temple. The cat stopped when Takashi and the wizards reappeared, the youkai looking ill at ease over being caught offering comfort to the sleeping teen. Takashi moved forward and sat down beside his son and left the wizards to worry about dealing with the aftermath of the attack and the legal connotations about the revelation that Pettigrew was alive and a Death Eater. Takashi absently interjected his opinion only once, stating that he'd be hiring Bongledash to represent Black at his trial; a trial they weren't going to give the man until Takashi reminded them that he hadn't had one in the first place.

It was right after he gave that announcement that Nyanko told Takashi that Sirius Black was the stray dog that stayed with them over winter break which meant that Sirius Black had saved Ryuu's life when he attacked Pettigrew that evening. Black's status as an animagus was confirmed by a few quick spells from Dumbledore, who was a Transfiguration Master; that alone reaffirmed Takashi's belief that there was more to the situation than what could be seen on the surface.

When Lupin was brought in sometime after the moon set, they were surprised to find the man looked far less weary than he had prior to his transformation. He confessed that the kneazle's status as an alpha had greatly affected the wolf and that he hadn't had as much trouble for the rest of the night as he usually did when he hadn't had his potion.

The werewolf immediately asked how Ryuu was and the tension melted from him when he learned that Ryuu's injuries had been limited to extensive bruising, some scratches, a few rope burns, a dislocated shoulder, mild exhaustion, and nerve damage. He then growled angrily when he heard that the teen had been exposed to the Cruciatus Curse for an extended period of time. A few minutes later, Lupin gave a copy of his memory from the previous night before he dropped off to sleep in order to recover from his transformation.

Ryuu woke up around midmorning the next day feeling stiff and sore (his shoulder throbbing slightly) and the searing pain of his nerves muted by the warming pads that were tucked around him. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he'd be allowed to leave the infirmary in a day or two once the antidote to the Cruciatus had been prepared and so long as he passed Madam Pomfrey's final exam.

He was sitting up reading through the book that Hermione had dropped off for him sometime that morning when Sirius Black woke with a start. The black auror, who was watching over the escaped convict once more, warned him not to make any sudden moves and the gaunt man moaned about Pettigrew escaping and Harry being in danger because the rat was the one who betrayed the Potters. Black then began sobbing about how he'd failed his godson and bemoaned the dementor attack until the auror kindly asked the man to pull himself together and get a grip.

While the man was ranting, Ryuu was studying him and listening to not only his words but the underlying emotions. Tenji finally broke the man out of his fit when he swatted the man across the face with his tail and yowled imperiously from his perch on the man's chest. Black's reaction would have been funny if Ryuu wasn't feeling so conflicted about the man; he'd practically jumped out of the bed and would have landed on the floor if not for a couple of quick spells from the auror that caught him in midair and dumped him back on the bed. Hearing the tall black man threaten to stick the man to the bed with a sticking charm if he didn't behave did bring a smile to Ryuu's lips because it wasn't something he'd ever imagined he'd hear an auror say.

Ryuu then glanced across the room to where his patronus was stretched out across three beds that had been pushed together and his mood plummeted. He brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs (ignoring the slight twinge in his left shoulder and the way the burning pain of his nerves increased as he pulled away from the heated pads) as the reason for that particular patronus forcefully pushed its way back into his mind. He began trembling a bit as he saw his uncle being held at the mercy of the dementors playing over and over again in his mind.

Even more so than his own personal nightmares of the times he'd been so close to dying and filled with paralyzing fear; seeing the man who'd helped him so much over the years, a man who'd become as much a part of his life as his parents and grandparents, seeing him on the verge of death or worse cut deeply. And knowing it was because of him, because his uncle had come to find him; that hurt for more than any thing else he'd ever faced. It was something he never again wanted to experience. Before he became too wrapped up in his fear and anger, the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Luna skipped into the room carrying Ryuu's book bag.

She glanced at the patronus briefly before she searched the room for him and the smile on her face could have lit the darkest room when she saw him. She practically danced across the room in her happiness and Ryuu pushed his darker thoughts out of his mind as he smiled a bit at the way she reminded him of a fairy. Without any hesitation, the second year climbed up onto the bed with Ryuu and gently took his hands in hers as she studied him intently for a moment. Off to the side, the auror and Black both turned to watch in silence; the auror mildly curious and intent on keeping an eye on Black's every move and Black because he'd finally noticed that Ryuu was in the bed next to him.

"I'm glad you're okay, my Dragon. I was worried for you last night when they said you were missing. Himiko was inconsolable and she cried almost all night long; even after the battle on the grounds was over. I would have come to see you sooner but they wouldn't allow us out of the tower last night and Professor Flitwick insisted that I go to all my classes this morning when he caught me sneaking out early." She paused a moment then and studied him intently before asking, "You are alright, aren't you?"

_I will be,_ Ryuu signed after he gently freed his hands from hers. _I might not be the best of company for a couple of days but I should be alright. _

"Why? Why is it always you?" Luna asked softly as she dropped her gaze and picked at the edge of the covers where they'd pooled around Ryuu's lap when he'd sat up earlier. "I may not have been here in your first year but I've heard what the older students said about the troll and what happened with that teacher. And last year… with the snake and another teacher… and now this year."

_I don't have an answer I can give you,_ Ryuu finally signed after a minute. _There are things I can not speak about and I will not lie to you or to our friends. Things that I wish I could change and things I wish I could forget. I am sorry._

"I understand," Luna replied seriously before she smiled and passed him his bag. "I'm glad you told me honestly that you couldn't tell me because I would have been hurt if you'd lied to me, my Dragon. I brought you your things; I thought you might like to have them."

_Thank you, Luna._

The two of them sat in silence after that, Luna once again slipping her hand into one of Ryuu's as they flipped through their text books reading the work they'd been assigned the day before (Ryuu) and that morning (Luna). At lunchtime, Hermione, Neville, Fred, George, and Colin invaded the infirmary smuggling in real food for Ryuu and his two familiars and bringing notes and homework assignments from Ryuu's morning classes. The offering of food pulled Shogun and Tenji away from where they'd been watching over Black as the children crowded around Ryuu's bed. The seven children then shared the impromptu picnic feast sitting on and around Ryuu's bed and talking about classes and the rumors currently flying about the school.

All too soon, Madam Pomfrey descended on their informal party and kicked the other children out of the hospital wing and Ryuu was once again left alone with his thoughts. He didn't really have long to sink back into his depression though as his parents came to see him next; the two of them having nothing to do now that most of the students were in class. While Ryuu spent time comforting his mother (who was a little distressed about what had happened the night before and over his latest injuries) Takashi approached Sirius Black.

"You are a most puzzling man, Sirius Black," Takashi quietly stated so as to not draw his son's attention. "I have spent most of the year trying to figure you out and what motivated you to do the things you did. Contrary to popular belief, people do not really change over night; not naturally. I'm aware that there are spells that can make it seem that they have but that is not a natural change. So when records showed you changed between one moment and the next I questioned it. There was no explanation for it… no thin threads building up to the moment where it all changed that could, in hindsight, paint the picture of your decent into madness."

"You're wrong… grief… indescribable grief can change a man in an instant," Black rasped. "It twists the way you think and makes you do stupid things. The grief and associated guilt eats you alive."

"And yet that grief is tied to the bonds you developed with the one you lost. It is not the loss of life that breaks you it is the loss of everything that tied you to that individual; your world being pulled out from under you. If you had not been so close to that individual you would not feel the same amount of grief," Takashi countered as he crossed his arms and studied the man once more.

"Besides, even if I agreed with you and said that yes, grief could change a man overnight that would not explain why _you_ snapped since according to all of the information available you willingly helped to murder your best friend by handing their location over to Voldemort. Why would you grieve if that was the case? Then again, there was speculation that you snapped because your lord and master had been defeated."

"He was never my lord and master, James was my brother in all but blood!" Sirius roared. "I would have died for him! I would have died to save them all! James and I fought with all we had and lost friends and family to the bastard; why the hell would I have betrayed the one person that was closer to me than my own parents were? We were all supposed to be brothers; James, Remus, my self and _Pettigrew_."

"I would have died for any one of them. We thought nothing could ever make one another turn our backs on each other. But out of all of us James and I were the closest. I admit I worried that Moony would be vulnerable because of something beyond his control but didn't think he would turn on purpose; it was more that I feared he wouldn't be able to help himself."

"What does that have to do with the Potter's deaths?" Takashi asked as he glanced sideways to see his son and wife both paying close attention now; the expression on Ryuu's face closed as the teen stared at Black.

"James and I came up with the perfect plan," Black whispered as his eyes became haunted. "We would tell everyone that I would be the secret keeper but in truth I would just be the decoy because everyone knew I was James's best friend. We would hide the true Keeper behind our bluff and if they came after me then I could lead them on a merry chase. James wanted to have Moony be their Secret Keeper but like I said I feared he wouldn't be able to help himself and so I told James to use Wormtail instead. Lily; she wanted Dumbledore to be their Secret Keeper but James felt the old man had enough on his plate. Like a fool I argued with both of them and convinced them that Peter was the perfect choice."

Black broke down a bit as he clutched the sheet that covered him and it took him a few minutes before he could continue, "They'd barely been hidden behind the Fidelius for a week before Peter ran to Voldemort and sold them out. I'd gone to check on him after the spy Dumbledore had in Voldemort's inner circle gave the news that Voldemort was going to make his move; that someone had given the dark lord the information he needed. I feared they'd captured Peter; he was always the weakest Marauder. When I found Peter missing and no signs of a struggle, I went to warn Prongs and found that I was already too late. My brother and my sister were dead and their son was taken from me and all I was left with was the knowledge that I'd killed my brother because I foolishly trusted the wrong friend."

"Peter had us all fooled," Lupin interjected as he sat up from across the way. "We never really thought him strong enough or clever enough to be the spy in our group. Peter was the one that had me convinced that you'd finally gotten caught up in the madness that filled so much of your family; that your brother's disappearance had you crawling back to your parents because you secretly blamed one of the Order for killing your little brother and hiding the body. I truly believed you had been capable mentally and magically of killing him and those other people. Seeing his name on the map last night was a shock; finding out he was alive and had hidden that fact for over ten years made me realize how wrong I'd been about you."

"Knowing he was alive and out there was the only thing keeping me from loosing myself in Azkaban; along with the knowledge that Harry still lived. I knew I was innocent and because it wasn't a happy thought the dementors couldn't take it from me like they took most all of my memories of my brother from me," Black rasped as he stared at Lupin with haunted eyes. "Then I saw him… there he was sitting as pretty as you please on the redhead's shoulder in that picture. The stupid rat had found himself the perfect family to hide with and when I learned he was here… all I could think of was that rat hurting little Harry… James's little boy… and I couldn't… I needed to kill him… he was here and I needed to kill him before he hurt Harry."

"How did he hide the fact that he was alive? Wouldn't someone have recognized the man?" Takashi asked with a frown as he glanced between Lupin and Black.

"He was a rat… a stupid fat rat. He cut off his finger and changed into his animagus form and disappeared into the sewers after he blew up the street. And then he lived the pampered life of a pet of a well connected if not well off family where he'd be able to follow the news of the wizarding world and any information about Voldemort or the other Death Eaters without risking being caught because the only ones that knew he was a rat were either dead, in prison, or too grief stricken to bother."

Ryuu stiffened in his mother's arms the moment he heard Black's words and he looked right at Lupin and signed, _Ron Weasley had a pet rat… he accused Hermione-chan's cat of killing and eating it when it disappeared earlier this year._

"I'm sorry to say I didn't make the connection when I heard about that incident," Lupin replied tiredly. "At the time I still thought Pettigrew was dead."

_Shogun and Tenji both tried to attack Weasley's rat before the school year started; it was the first time they'd seen the rat and they reacted violently. The only other time they reacted like that was around the stray dog that started following me around in Hogsmeade._

"Kneazles are smart, they can sense truth and lies or deceptions and postal owls have a sixth since of their own when it comes to recognizing magical signatures because that is how they find the recipient of the letter they are delivering," Lupin explained. "As familiars both of your animals are even smarter than others of their species because the bond allows for an exchange of magic, thought, and feeling… it is complex and it boils down to your magic enhancing your familiars so that they are as strong as you are. And… and did you say there was a dog following you around Hogsmeade? Padfoot, really?"

"I didn't go looking for him," Black muttered. "I was half starved when I stumbled across him that first time and he whapped me upside the head with that stick of his; thought I was going to buy the Quidditch Pitch right then. Didn't even recognize him at first."

Ryuu froze again as he tried to process exactly what was being said, his mind turning it over and over again until he made the connection between the rat-faced man, Weasley's missing rat, the nicknames that the two men had been tossing about, and Black's comment about Ryuu laying into him with his staff. Jerking his head around he stared at Black with eyes that were darkened with conflicting emotion.

_The dog was you… you are an animagus like the rat-man… it was you in that house that saved me. You attacked the rat-faced man and saved us._

"Yes, he was," Takashi stated. "It took us a while to figure it out last night after viewing your memory. What I don't understand is why Lupin-san didn't mention the fact that Black was a shape shifter in the first place; back when news of his escape was first released. If he had truly been after my son… we let that dog into our house and he slept in my son's room all through the winter holidays."

"I would never harm him… I needed to protect him," Black quietly replied. "Seeing him happy and loved was a comfort after all of the years of not knowing and I couldn't stand the thought of Wormtail taking that away. Can you answer me one question though? Why doesn't he speak?"

"That is a long story and one I'm not ready to share with you right now," Takashi replied, a hint of steel entering his voice as he leveled his gaze on the gaunt wizard. "You still have a lot of explaining to do and you have not earned mine or my son's trust; though his familiars are at least willing to give you a chance. I've hired my lawyer to represent you in the trial we've managed to convince the British to give you since you were railroaded into prison without one back in nineteen-eighty-one. Will you cooperate?"

"Why? Why would you do that for me?" Black asked instead.

"Besides the fact that everyone deserves a fair trial; you saved my son's life. I'm not happy that you snuck into our home as a dog but given the circumstances I doubt I would have been willing to allow you into my house as yourself at the time either."

"I… I don't know… there is a rat I need to hunt. He… he's your son now and he's happy; even a blind man could see that. What use is a broken godfather?"

"You would walk away? Throw away the rest of your life to chase after that man when you have a chance to right the wrongs that were done to you? Do you not even wish to find out what my son thinks or feels? To give him the chance to decide for himself if he wants to get to know you?"

"I…"

"Shut up, Padfoot, and just say thank you," Lupin ordered.

"Yes, mother Moony," Black muttered before he muttered out a barely heard and slightly curt thank you.

Ryuu spent the next two days alternating between watching the wizard in the bed next to his, working on the various class assignments his friends brought for him, and being entertained by his various visitors. Snape delivered his first dose of the Cruciatus Antidote around supper time on the day after Ryuu had woken up and the adult wizards in the room at the time (those that didn't know Ryuu's full history) grew contemplative when they observed the thirteen year old downing the steaming yellow potion without any hesitation and without showing any reaction to the foul taste.

That, along with the fact that the pain he must have been feeling prior to taking the antidote hadn't crippled him, was very telling for those that knew enough about the Unforgiveable Curses to know how much damage the pain curse can do no matter how short a time one is held under it. Ryuu was released from the Hospital Wing shortly after lunch on the fourth day of his stay in the infirmary and he'd paused before passing Black's bed; his eyes dark with confused and conflicting emotions as he stared at the man that was his godfather and, up until just a few days before, supposed to have been the enemy. The look of longing, regret, and guilt in the man's blue-gray eyes was almost painful to see.

When Ryuu finally left the room he was even more confused about how he should feel about the man. The large spirit-wolf pacing silently behind him through the halls didn't help as the patronus radiated his rage and grief from the night of the attack; constantly reminding him of what he'd nearly lost last night. He just couldn't bring himself to dispel the patronus though; the close call from that night and the way the dementors had been drawn to him all year making him fear that he wouldn't be able to draw on a happy enough memory to fuel another patronus should this one vanish.

A check of the time told Ryuu that he was due in his Advanced Runes class in about fifteen minutes and he altered his course towards the classroom after finding that Luna or Flitwick had packed his runes book and carving kit in his bag. When he entered the room all eyes turned to stare at him; the older students he shared the lesson with eyeing him and his overly large patronus curiously. He ignored them as best he could though and for the first time all year sat in the very back of the classroom where the wolf-spirit would not interfere with the class due to the emotions it was radiating.

Professor Babbling was startled by the addition of the magical construct but didn't allow it to interfere with the class; her presence commanding and strict as she lectured them for the first twenty minutes before allowing them to carve out simple fire repellant wards onto balsa wood tiles before they were allowed to move onto the more complex version of the ward carved on tiles of slate. Once class was over, Ryuu dragged his feet on his way to his next class; his afternoon training sessions with Hatake. It wasn't that he didn't want to see his quasi uncle, because he did; it was because he wasn't certain if he was ready to deal with the aftermath of everything that happened last night.

Despite the fact that he took his time he still arrived at the dojo on time; one did not turn up late to Hatake's lessons unless one wanted to spend the entire class period being made an example of by being forced to perform the most humiliating of tasks. When he stepped inside the dojo he found his uncle sitting in the middle of the floor mediating with his back to the door and the handful of other students that usually shared this lesson with him conspicuously absent.

The change in routine left Ryuu feeling a little off balance as he put his things in one of the lockers provided and set his familiars down on the only chair in the room. He then slipped off his shoes and took off his robe before stepping onto the tatami mats that covered the floor. He shifted nervously before he tentatively began stretching and warming up like usual; pausing awkwardly whenever he had trouble focusing on the usually easy to follow routine. It wasn't until he began going through his first set of katas that Ryuu finally relaxed and allowed his body to flow through the familiar stances.

"Come sit with me and meditate, Ryuu-kun," Hatake ordered after Ryuu had been at his katas for roughly eighteen minutes and most of the tension had dissipated from the teen's frame.

Ryuu complied without any of the hesitation he'd shown earlier and he was soon floating through the gentle fog that always filled his mind when he mediated. He had to struggle to retain the peaceful feelings though as shadows filled every corner of his mind with memories from the attack. The sudden influx of positive emotions from an outside source startled Ryuu into opening his eyes only to find a familiar silver mammal standing practically nose to nose with him.

"You looked like you could use a little positive reinforcement," Hatake explained as he eyed Ryuu critically. He then jutted his chin in the direction of the silvery-gold wolf sitting just beside the door as he added, "It would probably help if you let go of the anger you are carrying with you everywhere."

_I can't._

"Explain."

_I'm afraid to dismiss him. I'm afraid I will need him and not be able to call him again. I couldn't… I tried… but I couldn't summon any positive emotions or a happy memory strong enough to shape a patronus at first. I don't ever want to be caught like that again and if I dispel this patronus I don't know if I could call out another and I never again want to have to see or feel what I felt that night when I called this patronus into being. Seeing you… watching them… knowing and fearing what they would do to you… it felt like someone had ripped out a part of my soul._

"The last of dementors are gone; they were rounded up this morning by the aurors and returned to the prison," Hatake declared the moment Ryuu's hands stilled. "Do you remember when I told you that very few adults were able to perform the patronus spell and out of those that could even fewer could produce a corporeal patronus?" Ryuu nodded slowly in response to the question.

"It is not just about the amount of power a witch or wizard has available to draw on, and the patronus requires a good deal of magical power; it is also about having strength of will as well as magical and emotional control. When a witch or wizard is under duress they have less control over their magic and even less control of their emotions. Regaining that control during a highly stressful situation is extremely difficult for fully trained adults let alone a half-trained teenager."

Glancing over at the patronus lurking by the door, Hatake paused for a moment before he continued, "That you were able to produce a patronus at all that night considering the circumstances is amazing. That you performed the spell using the emotions you were feeling at that time should have been impossible; the patronus is not meant to house just any emotions. The spell is designed to draw on positive emotions in order to create a buffer that is used to counter the despair that a dementor generates. No normal patronus has the power to destroy a dementor."

Hatake looked over at Ryuu again and quietly ordered, "Put your rage and grief to rest and allow yourself time to come to terms with what happened. Once you have regained your inner balance, we can address any problem you still have casting a patronus."

Ryuu bowed his head and reluctantly climbed to his feet to comply, meeting the patronus halfway across the floor. Reaching up he placed his hand on the wolf's nose and shook beneath the power of his emotions from the night before as he pulled out his cherry wand and used his right hand to dispel the creature. Unlike the Nyanko-patronus, this one didn't slowly fade after being dispelled; it exploded in a shower of gold and silver sparks that filled the entire room before they vanished as they arched down towards the floor. The abruptness caught Ryuu off guard and he ended up on the floor in shock; not quite certain of how he'd gotten there.

The rest of the school year passed by in a blur for Ryuu as he prepared for and took his end of year exams. He did his best to put on a brave face for his friends so he wouldn't pull them down with him as he struggled with his depression and uncertainties. It grew easier by the end of term when the worst of his memories from that night had faded from his waking thoughts and his nightmares had grown tamer. The fact that he was able to talk about everything that had happened with his parents and his uncle when the need arose without having to wait until he left the castle helped tremendously.

Kimura-sensei was finally released from the infirmary two weeks after the attack. He'd come very close to losing his soul that night and it had sent his body into shock due to the traumatic experience destabilizing his magical core. The man had come close to dying more than once while he was in a coma and only the fact that he was in good health physically, very strong emotionally and mentally, and was a highly disciplined man magically had given him the strength to pull through with the help of Madam Pomfrey and Healer Inoue. It didn't hurt that they'd wasted no time in bringing the wizard up to the infirmary so soon after the incident.

The wizard wouldn't be up to performing any high level spells any time soon though and as a result the tutoring sessions he normally had with Ryuu were taken over by Professor Flitwick; who'd been kept appraised of Ryuu's progress because he was the teen's Head of House. If not for the oath that Flitwick had given to Ryuu over the summer those lessons might have added to the stress Ryuu was already feeling at the time. As it was, Flitwick had given an oath to the teen and the two of them were able to avoid the unnecessary period of distrust that Ryuu always seemed to exhibit around most other adults when placed in a one on one situation.

It was on the night before the students were scheduled to go home that Ryuu finally managed to reproduce his Nyanko-patronus; under the supervision of Kimura, Hatake, and Flitwick with his parents watching from the side. He'd spent an hour meditating with Kimura's crane, Hatake's red panda, and Flitwick's raccoon patronuses sitting around him submersing him in their happy memories. It was still smaller than the original patronus but it was solid and stable as it sat in front of Ryuu and watched the other three ethereal patronuses cavorting around it. Ryuu eventually named it Neko-chan in honor of the name that Hatake always called Nyanko-sensei; much to the disgruntlement of said youkai.

Over all it had been yet another difficult year; what with the dementor attacks, Malfoy's attack, the two long drawn out trials, and his kidnapping by Pettigrew and Ryuu was happy to be going back to Japan where he would be safe.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Kuso – swear word  
>Neko – cat<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _There we go. Didn't think it would take me this long to wade through a few chapters checking for mistakes but it is hard to focus on things right now. Hopefully, it was worth the wait and hopefully the next chapter won't take quite as long to throw up. _

_I've also decided to start posting my Gundam Wing/Harry Potter crossover even though it isn't quite finished (though it is close to being finished). I need something else to focus on aside from writing the various WIP's I have and editing the same story because my brain is permanently fried. I'm hoping that doing so will help me get through the slump I'm in regarding the sequels to Chaos by Request and Wishing Door/Wizard's World (YR1)._

**09-20-12:**_ Chapters 13, 14, 15, & 16 were just updated with recent edits.  
><em>**09-21-12:**_ Fixed an error in the dialogue that a helpful reviewer pointed out.  
><em>


	29. Political Suicide

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 28: The Political Suicide of a Pompous Windbag<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>Ministry of Magic, London, England &amp;<br>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu  
>June 1994 ~ August 1994<em>

The flight back to Japan was once again filled with Ryuu's friends and their family. Those students that had been sponsored to attend this year's summer session would be arriving via portkey on the first day of the new session instead of flying over early like their group. This year Ryuu hadn't picked a specific student to sponsor, having not taken the time to get to know any other students outside of his group and the exchange students that had joined them that year.

He had approached Professor Flitwick during one of their morning tutoring sessions about three weeks after the attack and presented his quandary to his Head of House. He was required to sponsor at least one student each summer and was given the option to sponsor one student to attend Hogwarts during the year. The solution was that Flitwick put together a lottery for his first, second, and third year classes (one for each year) and the winner of the lotteries would be granted a sponsorship for that summer.

Doing the lottery also gave all four house an equal chance to have a student attend the Japanese academy without limiting it to the houses that Ryuu and his friends were in (as it had been the past two years). The winners were Astoria Greengrass (first year Slytherin), Mark Summerby (second year Hufflepuff), and Hannah Abbott (third year Hufflepuff). Additionally, the twins had sponsored their friend Lee Jordan and fellow teammate Katie Bell while Neville had sponsored Susan Bones (at the request of his grandmother who was hoping the two would develop a romantic relationship).

Hermione had offered to sponsor Demelza Robins (a first year from Gryffindor that didn't have many friends) while Colin sponsored his brother who would be starting Hogwarts this next year. Luna wasn't sponsoring anyone personally, like Ryuu she'd allowed Flitwick to gambol away her sponsorship to free her from the need to approach the other students. While the dainty blonde was no longer tormented endlessly by the other students she had also not made any new friends with her former tormentors; she was quite content with her place among Ryuu and his other friends.

In order to accommodate all of the children, Takashi and Taki had hired a contractor to do a bit of renovation on their home over the course of the year (something they'd discussed the previous year when it became obvious that Ryuu's circle of friends was growing). They'd had several unused rooms on the ground floor gutted and turned into two dorm style rooms (one for the boys and one for the girls) and had two additional bathrooms installed to provide privacy for their guests.

That allowed for the family to maintain their private rooms on the second floor of the house instead of being forced to share with all of the children. Additionally, they had four guest houses built in the back garden, each one built to house up to two families for those parents that didn't wish to send their children alone. The Japanese Magical Magistrate had then sent warding specialists to ward their entire house with standard protections against fire, flooding, termites, and unauthorized magical transportation.

They also placed a hostile intent ward around the property in order to prevent witches and wizards seeking to harm the residents from entering the property. (Partly because of whom Ryuu was, the trouble he'd been in for the last three years, and as a protection against those who disliked the new relationship Japan's magical community now had with England's magical community.) A second portal was also installed, this one leading to District Seven, in order to allow for easier travel between their home and the magical shopping district without drawing attention to the public entrance by garnering the attention of the non-magicals due to their numbers.

Because they were ending up boarding so many students over the summer, the academy's Council of Elders decided that they would provide Takashi and Taki with a stipend to pay for food, supplies, and help offset the expense of added utility usage. The couple was also certified as an official boarding house for the school; entitling them to discounts for bulk orders at a handful of stores in District Seven (such as the book store, the pet store, the magical grocers, and the stationary store as well as a couple of others).

In return, Takashi set up a scholarship account with the Japanese branch of Gringotts for the sponsorship of Japanese students that were given the chance to attend Hogwarts. (He'd also set up a similar account with the goblins in London for the British students being sponsored to attend the Japanese academy only this one was under the Potter name instead of under Natsume). The scholarship fund would provide funds for transportation and supplies for those students that qualified as well as find lodging for those not sponsored by one of the students already in the program.

This summer would also be the first summer that several of the professors from Hogwarts would be holding workshops at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu. Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Vector, and Babbling had all requested the chance to be first to visit the academy. McGonagall would be holding Animagus Training for those that had at least five years of schooling or were fifteen years of age (with parental permission).

Flitwick would be teaching Enchantment Workshops in conjunction with Babbling and Vector (Charms, Runes, and Arithmancy all playing a large part in creating magical enchantments). Sprout was offering a Herbology Workshop that focused on gardening spells. And both Babbling and Vector would be helping with the current Runes and Arithmancy classes respectfully.

Ryuu had already signed up for the Introduction to Enchantment class and of course was already taking both Runes and Arithmancy. Additionally, he was starting Introduction to Warding and French while entering his final year of Cultural Studies, Spell Casting, and Runes; hoping to obtain certificates of completion in all three courses. After a short debate, Ryuu was given permission to take the Animagus Training class since this was his fifth summer of courses.

McGonagall had protested at first, stating that he was too young (not quite fourteen yet) but Hatake had not hesitated to remind the older witch that Ryuu had both the power and control necessary to at least start the training despite his current age. She grumbled a bit but eventually relented since Takashi and both Headmasters had also given their permission but swore Ryuu would be dropped from the class if he messed around or couldn't keep up with his other classes.

This summer Ryuu had no trouble quickly settling into his usual summer routine; his unwanted adventure not leaving as much of an impact on the teen as those of his first two years. He started his mornings with Kimura and Flitwick refining his control (Kimura still not quite recovered from his close shave with the dementors); his patronus now a near permanent fixture as the steady drain of the wild magic drawn to him by the magical substances in his blood stabilized the imbalance that had marked most of the previous year. He was also working on the next level of Occlumency during those morning sessions now that he'd finally finished fixing the damage the dementors had done to his mental defenses.

Once he was finished with Kimura and Flitwick, Ryuu would turn back two hours and spend the next hour and a half in the dojo. Hatake had him working with a small group of first year students under the supervision of Satoshi who'd officially taken over the aikido classes though those students taking aikido still met in the same dojo as those taking jujitsu under Hatake.

Surprisingly, Ryuu had a natural teaching talent that had been developed through the tutoring sessions he'd been doing since his first year of summer school. The fact that he was a natural born leader helped as well since he unconsciously commanded the students' attention and respect by presenting himself professionally and offering respect to his students in turn while at the same time tolerating no nonsense. His lack of voice wasn't as much of a hindrance to the lessons as one might have expected since the lessons were based upon demonstrations rather than lectures.

After he was finished with training, he'd shower and dress for the day before heading down to breakfast with his friends. Directly after breakfast, Ryuu and Satoshi would head to Enchantment together (Satoshi not wanting to miss another chance to learn from his idol). Next for Ryuu was Master's Level Cultural Studies where they were focusing on the political aspects of the various magical communities, the magical upheavals in Europe during the twentieth century (mainly focusing on Grindelwald's and Voldemort's activities), and the purpose of the International Confederation of Wizards.

Ryuu then had an hour study period before he turned back two hours and attended French Class with Luna (who'd shyly asked him to take the class with her as she'd always wanted to learn French). Another study session followed after French before their group met up in the cafeteria for lunch. The first class of the afternoon was Introduction to Warding and the only reason he'd been allowed into that class was because he'd gotten his Master's Certification in Calligraphy the previous summer and he was very close to obtaining his Masters Certification in Runes (having taken Runes for two summer sessions in addition to a complete year at Hogwarts).

He was the youngest student in the class and also recognized as one of the best carvers because of his exceptional manual dexterity, fine motor control, and excellent penmanship. (Helped in no small part by the six years he'd been playing the flute and his need to communicate primarily through the written word. The fact that he was ambidextrous helped too since he wasn't limited to working with just one hand.)

After Warding he had Spell Casting before he turned back another two hours and attended the Animagus Training where Ryuu was once again the youngest student present. Their first class was an hour long lecture about the difficulty of the animagus transformation, the laws and regulations that apply to an animagus, and the two methods that are commonly used to achieve the actual transformation. The second hour of class was spent meditating while Professor McGonagall walked through the students testing them to see if they were capable of becoming an animagus.

Out of the sixty-seven students that had signed up for the class only eighteen of them ended up possessing the potential to complete the transformation. McGonagall was surprised to discover Ryuu was indeed one of those eighteen. They were told to choose the form they wished to take and write down the reason why they wanted that particular form for their next meeting before they were dismissed for the day. Another study period followed Animagus Training before Ryuu once more met up with Satoshi and the two of them headed up to the fourth floor where Satoshi joined Ryuu for Masters Level Music class.

Ryuu would be learning how to weave illusions with his music this year while Satoshi started with summoning. When Ryuu informed their sensei that he'd successfully summoned a fire phoenix (specifically Headmaster Dumbledore's phoenix familiar) the previous year the man became excited and asked him if he thought he could do it again. Ryuu replied that he didn't know because the ocarina he'd used to summon the phoenix (and other birds) had been destroyed and his new one just didn't sound the same. He offered to try all the same but instead of using the new clay ocarina his grandmother had gotten to replace the one lost, he used his old duel chamber ocarina.

Because Ryuu wasn't focusing specifically on Fawkes while he played this time, thinking the phoenix too far away to hear the call, the summoning spell he sent out wasn't very specific which turned out to be both a good thing and a bad thing. It was good because it meant that the call would not limit him to finding (and possibly not reaching) Fawkes but was bad because, since it wasn't specific, all the phoenixes that heard the call and felt like answering it did so since phoenix summoners were quite rare and phoenixes were naturally curious and social birds.

It wasn't just fire phoenixes that answered the call either; there were also ice, water, sand, stone, wind, shadow, light, and static phoenixes in addition to a single rare spirit phoenix. Needless to say the entire class (including the instructor) had been stunned speechless as the room filled up with hundreds of multicolored phoenixes that crowded around Ryuu who was playing with his eyes closed. When he stopped playing and opened his eyes to see if it worked, Ryuu was shocked by the number of curious black eyes that were peering at him from amidst the barrage of multicolored feathers.

After a while the birds slowly began leaving, some of them depositing tail or wing feathers in Ryuu's lap before they vanished. Finally, after nearly fifteen minutes, there were only two phoenixes left in the room; a red fire phoenix that Ryuu somehow knew was Fawkes and the small silver, white, and gold spirit phoenix. Fawkes trilled out a laugh as he landed on Ryuu's lap, nuzzled his chest, and tweaked Ryuu's hair before he vanished. The spirit phoenix on the other hand didn't leave at all; she just sat near Ryuu and stared at him. She twittered at him a time or two when their sensei finally collected himself enough to start the class but didn't approach him; nor did she leave.

At the end of class, Ryuu gathered up the three and a half dozen feathers he'd been gifted and carefully tucked them in his bag in a daze as he headed down to his dorm so he could turn back a final two hours in order to attend his last class of the day. The fact that the phoenix followed him through the school made a number of the students that had witnessed his mass summoning of one of the rarest breeds of magical birds in the world, sit back and take notice of exactly just how young, powerful, and talented Ryuu had proved to be.

The spirit phoenix was still following Ryuu when he met his friends just outside the dorms to head down to supper two hours later; the phoenix having latched onto the time turner's chain at the last second when Ryuu turned back a final two hours. Those who hadn't believed the rumors being spread about the fifth year that summoned somewhere around two hundred phoenixes were shocked when the bird soared into the dining room behind Ryuu and trilled a short song before landing on the table beside the thirteen year old. By the end of the meal, the spirit female would be perched on Ryuu's head and accepting occasional morsels of fruit and vegetables from the boy.

After the meal, Ryuu was approached by a large contingent of staff members and he shot his friends a betrayed pout as all of them but Luna bailed on him and wished him luck. Luna simply kissed his cheek and told him she'd see him in their study room to go over their vocabulary for French when he was finished; leaving behind a flustered Ryuu when she skipped out of the room. Ten minutes later, it was confirmed that the spirit phoenix had initiated a familiar bond with Ryuu; the thread connecting them somewhere between bronze and gold in color indicating that it was still in the early stages of the bond.

It was also determined that the young female was less than a year old and had not yet gone through her first rebirth; meaning she was newly hatched. She was also the first spirit phoenix to be seen in over two hundred years. Until now it was believed that they either never truly existed or that they were an extinct species of phoenix. Since there were no daily care guides on what one needed to do in order to care for a young phoenix, especially one whose abilities were largely unknown; a message was sent to Albus Dumbledore, the only other wizard currently alive with a phoenix familiar, detailing the situation. Ryuu would later send a second letter home to his parents with one of the school's owls to let them know what had happened.

Ryuu's newly gifted feathers, which included at least one tail feather and one flight feather from each species of phoenix except his new familiar, were placed into a protective case so they wouldn't be damaged or stolen (phoenix feathers being extremely valuable and highly sought after by wand makers, potion masters, potion suppliers, and collectors). He showed the feathers to his friends when they curiously asked to see the difference between the different kinds of phoenixes while Satoshi described what had happened during music class.

Ryuu blushed when he was asked what he was thinking when he summoned them all and he admitted that he hadn't been thinking which made everyone laugh. The young phoenix also garnered attention from more than half the school though she wouldn't allow anyone but Ryuu (and his familiars) to get close to her, let alone touch her; her skittishness due to the still forming bond and her young age.

It took Dumbledore two weeks to find the time to visit the school in order to give Ryuu advice on raising his new companion. He also brought news that Sirius Black's trial had finally been scheduled and that Ryuu would be required to take the stand at some point. Fawkes also turned up, to Dumbledore's surprise, and watched over the as yet unnamed spirit phoenix as her status as a familiar was formally registered with the Magical Magistrate.

The administrator asked when the fourth familiar would be registered and Ryuu said it wasn't his place to register Nyanko as his familiar because the cat had been with his father far longer and the cat disliked anything to do with magic. That garnered funny looks from those that didn't know Nyanko was a youkai but the matter was dropped since the cat wasn't Ryuu's constant companion like the other three were.

By the third week of summer, the bond between Ryuu and the phoenix had turned a light gold and he'd named her Shinjin, which meant faith, belief, or devotion, and sometimes called her Shin (which also meant faith, truth, fidelity, or sincerity). Her diet consisted of mainly fruits (like most phoenixes), vegetables (unlike most phoenixes), and the occasional bits of bread or chocolate (completely unlike any other phoenix). Out of Ryuu's other familiars, she got along best with Shogun who treated her like the infant she currently was, grooming the slightly larger phoenix and bringing her wild cherries (which were her favorite fruit). The two cats didn't seem to be too put out over her presence; though Tenji did get a little huffy whenever she claimed his usual perch on Ryuu's right shoulder.

Aside from the added work of integrating his new companion into his life, Ryuu was doing well with classes. In Enchantment, his summer project was to make a self cleaning tray for Shogun's perch in order to make cleaning up after the owl easier. He'd been making good progress on the initial design and the runes involved but had struggled a bit with the arithmancy because he'd not yet learned the higher level equations. Professor Vector helped him out by showing him the proper steps and warning Ryuu not to apply it another project without seeing him first.

In his warding class, Ryuu was creating a rat repellant ward stone that would repel rats for up to one hundred feet for his dorm room at Hogwarts as well as an amulet with the same ward that would prevent a rat from getting within ten feet of him. He wasn't certain it would work on an animagus but at least this way he wouldn't be jumping every time he saw a rat.

In Runes, Ryuu had decided to create amulets for his parents and grandparents with the runes for good luck and protection on them. He chose to carve them from cherry wood and shape each of them into a different animal. For his father he made a carving of Madara's natural form, his mother's was Madara's earthly vessel (she did so love Nyanko's cuteness), for his grandmother he made a koi, and his grandfather's would be a starling; the runes for each of them carved onto the back so as to disguise the nature of the pendants.

For his final project, which he'd need to have done by the end of the summer to earn his certification, Ryuu chose to make a portable pensieve. He didn't know if he'd have it finished or not though because the difficulty level required more enchantment than just simple runes. Because of that, he had a second project chosen in the form of a removable dust ward that could be hung in a room to repel dust.

The animal he'd chosen to be his animagus form was the red panda; a fact that he kept secret from everyone but Professor McGonagall. He wanted his form to be a surprise for his honorary uncle. His reasons for choosing that form were many; it was fairly small, not known to travel in large family groups (which meant it wouldn't be odd to see one alone), was extremely good at climbing, and most importantly, it was the form Hatake's patronus took because that was how the older wizard saw Ryuu.

Once his form had been approved by McGonagall (who'd vetoed a couple of other animals such as a dinosaur, a guppy, and any magical creatures that some of the other students had chosen), Ryuu began researching every thing he could about the red panda. He looked up its natural habitat, diet, social behavior, natural predators, current status in the wild, and life cycle. He also studied its physical appearance including musculature, bone structure, and natural coloration in addition to observing the red pandas at the zoo to observe how they moved, played, slept, and fought.

During the fourth week of the session, Ryuu was forced to miss two full days of classes in order to attend Sirius Black's trial. It was a brutal trial; far more so than Shogun's trial the year before. Minister Fudge fought hard to see Black thrown back into Azkaban; unwilling to admit that a mistake had been made over a decade ago. During the course of the trial it was soon revealed that Fudge had been one of the first ministry personnel to arrive on the scene (at the time he'd been with the Department of Magical Law Enforcement) and that he'd cast illegal memory charms on several key witnesses and 'lost' Black's wand before it could be checked for recent spells.

Once that information had come out, additional digging revealed that Lucius Malfoy had bribed several employees in the ministry (including Fudge at the time) to deny Black a trial in the hopes that his son would be named heir to the Black fortune. Also brought up was Dumbledore's conviction that Black had been the Potter's Secret Keeper; which had been the final nail in the coffin that had seen Black thrown into prison without a trial at the time much to Dumbledore's chagrin.

It was the scandal of the decade as not only did it once more drag the Malfoy name through the mud it revealed a long string of governmental corruption that ran back to the early sixties and seventies. The goblins grudgingly supplied an accounting of Fudge's, Malfoy's, and the Ministry's Gringotts' accounts and there was a direct correlation between the amount of money moving between those accounts and certain political moves and legal matters. A few prime examples being Lucius being cleared of all charges of being a Death Eater, Sirius Black being denied a trial, the passing of several questionable laws regarding magical sentients (such as the werewolf registration act), and the recent trials of Malfoy vs. Natsume and Natsume vs. Malfoy.

Ryuu took the stand and provided his memory of his kidnapping by the very much alive Pettigrew. It was a very graphic memory and more than one witch fainted while numerous witches and wizards retched when the rat animagus had lost his eye to Shogun. Many purebloods tried to get Ryuu arrested on charges of excessive and barbaric force on a 'pureblood' but they couldn't make the charges stick because the man had tortured Ryuu and threatened his familiars and Ryuu had restrained from outright killing the man. Still, Ryuu hadn't made any friends amongst those purebloods that had been followers of Voldemort that day or those that would be affected by Fudge's fall from grace.

That had taken place on the first day of classes he missed, on a Monday. He had to go back that Thursday when the verdict was being given in the event that he needed to answer any more questions about his interactions with Black both before and after his kidnapping. Both days he'd been more then a little irritable because he'd been forced to leave all three of his familiars at home (Shinjin because they hadn't wanted to reveal her presence to the Ministry of Magic until the bond was a bit stronger and the other two because Takashi hadn't trusted Malfoy not to try something to get revenge).

In the end, there was only one verdict that could be given; not guilty. The evidence was overwhelmingly irrefutable despite the sabotage attempts (both past and present) from Fudge, Malfoy, and a handful of others. The numerous scandals that were revealed during the course of the trial would see Fudge run out of office before the end of the summer and Malfoy desperately fighting to stay out of Azkaban. Replacing Fudge as Minister would be one Tiberius Ogden, a well liked older wizard with good business sense and unquestionable work ethics. When Ryuu returned home that night with his father and Hatake, they had two additional guests; Sirius Black and Remus Lupin.

The moment the portkey dropped them just out of sight in the backyard, Ryuu had been tackled by his familiars and Nyanko-sensei. Remus and Sirius had both stared at the dainty phoenix as they hadn't been told that Ryuu had picked up a new familiar during the first day of his summer session. When Hatake had shared the story of how the bonding had occurred (including how many phoenixes had turned up) both wizards had been impressed and a little intimidated because it indicated that Ryuu was an exceptionally powerful wizard.

That first weekend, Ryuu and Sirius danced about each other without trying to be obvious about it. Ryuu wasn't certain what the man wanted with him and Sirius was afraid of being rejected. Sirius spent quite a bit of time observing the teen; watching him with his adopted parents, watching him with his familiars, watching him interact with the other children present, and watching him study, train, and occasionally play. And as he watched, he discovered that he was most jealous, not of Takashi who'd become Ryuu's father, but of Hatake and the relationship the gray-haired wizard had with the teen. Hatake had taken the place Sirius had always thought would be his; the honorary uncle who just happened to also be his godfather.

Once Ryuu was back at school, Takashi descended on Sirius like a sudden storm; dragging the man into his office for an official counseling session. Getting the man to cooperate at first had been like pulling teeth; his sheer stubbornness rivaling even Ryuu's early refusals to leave the house. Once he cracked though, he couldn't stop and after the first four hours talking Takashi made arrangements for the Mind Healer that Ryuu had seen during his first summer session to work with the older wizard.

He also made the man several appointments with various specialists to treat the years of malnutrition, extreme exposure to the elements, and less than tender ministrations of the guards during his time in Azkaban. Lupin's presence helped considerably as the man knew his friend very well and was easily able to accurately gauge his moods and cheer him up when things got bad.

The second weekend Ryuu spent around his godfather wasn't quite as tense or stressful for either of them, though they still weren't quite comfortable with one another. Sirius's sessions with the Mind Healer were already showing signs of helping the man's emotional and mental stability as had the long confession/heart to heart he'd had with Takashi. He still had a long ways to go though; mostly because of how long he'd spent in the near constant presence of the dementors – even though half the time he'd been in his animagus form.

That was also the weekend of Ryuu's fourteenth birthday and this year they'd celebrated at home; Ryuu not wanting to spend yet another day away from his phoenix, who couldn't really go out in public because of her obviously magical appearance. From his parents that year he was given a professional grade etching kit. His grandparents had picked up several boxes of marble, slate, and granite tiles he could use for practicing his wards and runes. Hatake had given him his first full sized bo (with a reinforced steel core like his hanbo).

His friends had pooled their funds and bought him a leather jacket that had all four of his familiars likenesses embroidered on the back. Remus had given him a spell handbook that had a collection of spells that were commonly used in a wizard's everyday life but weren't taught at Hogwarts. And Sirius had given him ten tickets to the upcoming Quidditch World Cup. The twins thought the tickets were the best gift (all they could talk about was the game since the day they'd learned their father had managed to get tickets for their family to attend the game).

On the third weekend after the trial, the two of them would share their first conversation; stilted though it was. They stayed on safe topics such as school and the weather; both of them slowly testing the waters. Sirius still hadn't been told the details of Ryuu's early life and how he'd come to be adopted by Takashi but Sirius wasn't in any hurry to hear the details because he was afraid to hear how badly he'd failed his godson.

The biggest surprise for those who knew who Ryuu had been and who Sirius was to Ryuu was the fact that Sirius had no trouble accepting the fact that Ryuu had changed his name and was hiding who he had been. Sirius's response was that his godson was happy and that was all that mattered; something that had earned him a measure of respect from his godson who appreciated the fact that the man wasn't trying to make Ryuu live in his past in order to recapture what the man had lost the night the Potters died.

The final two weeks of the summer session were stressful for Ryuu, academically, as he worked to finish up his projects for Warding, Runes, and Enchantment, studied for his certification exams for Cultural Studies, Spell Casting, and Runes, and prepared his presentation for Master's Level Music in hopes of gaining the official title of Illusionist.

His performance test for music would require him to present an illusion of a well known Japanese fairytale or legend of his choice, create a solid appearing illusion (could be a person or an object), and either disguise or hide his presence for a total of five minutes. He would then be awarded points for quality, stability, accuracy, complexity, and originality; the cumulative total of points would be used to determine if he earned the title or not.

In his Animagus Training, Professor McGonagall would be testing how well they knew their chosen animal and how close they were to integrating their form into their magic. This would involve a lot of meditation, a few magical scans, and a series of verbal questions in a one on one setting. McGonagall would then transfigure them into their chosen form to see if they could retain their human minds and if they could function in the foreign body.

Those that passed that portion would then be given instructions on the next step in the process so they could spend the year preparing for the final two steps in the process when they returned the next summer. Those unable to retain their minds or move about properly in their chosen forms would need to repeat the introductory course and spend the year doing a more thorough research of their chosen form.

Ryuu did well in all of the classes though he struggled with his enchantment project because he just didn't yet have a good enough grasp of the arithmancy involved. He managed to complete his project and it worked as it was supposed to but he'd needed a bit more help than any of the older students. He still passed the class and would move up to the next level the following summer and was told he could direct his questions to one of the three instructors over the course of the year at Hogwarts in order to help prepare him for the next level.

His hopes of creating a portable pensieve had been set aside for this summer as well since he just wasn't at a high enough level to create something that complicated due to the amount of enchantment and arithmancy involved. He had all the research he would need to complete it once he had a better grasp of the skills he would need to create the pensieve; which would make it easier once he reached the appropriate level. His alternate project still gained him his rune certification though as did the thoroughness of his research into the creation of the pensieve.

His portable rodent ward earned him extra credit in Warding because the concept of non-stationary wards that weren't solely based upon a charm was unique and once thought to be impossible. Ryuu had based the design upon his protection amulets that Natori-san had made to protect him from the youkai and kept the warding system simple by focusing on a specific kind of rodent instead of just rodents in general. He'd also integrated three different types of runes into the ward, instead of sticking with a single alphabet which would have caused the project to fail, and tied the spells into the runes to make them self sustaining. His sensei had pulled him aside after class and offered to help him apply for a patent for his portable warding scheme since it was an original concept.

He achieved one of the highest scores on his Illusionary Projection; recreating the story of the Spider Weaver, creating an exact illusion of himself and his familiars so that when they stood side by side they couldn't determine which one was the real one without physically touching them, and managed to put the entire audience to sleep for five minutes while also changing his appearance so that when they woke up they couldn't find him until he dispelled the illusion.

He'd nearly exhausted himself giving the performance (mostly due to how hard he'd been pushing himself during those final two weeks) but it had been worth it when he was told he'd earned his second title. There were only three more possible titles he could earn; that of Elemental (the ability to manipulate the elements using music and magic), the title of Shaman (the art of healing using music and magic), and that of Master Bard if he could prove that he could effectively teach what he'd learned.

In his final Animagus class, he was one of five out of the eighteen that had the potential to transform that managed to retain their human minds, one of three that could function in the foreign body, and the only one that had fully integrated his animal into his magic. He was so comfortable in his form that he'd actually played around with his familiars for a bit while Professor McGonagall had watched in shock. She'd fully expected him to be one of the ones that would need to repeat the course next year but she had underestimated his desire to surprise his surrogate uncle.

The three identifying markings that made him stand out from a true red panda were his green eyes, the faint white lines around his eyes that looked like glasses, and a tracery of white fur on his forelegs that exactly matched the scars on his arms. The scar on his back and the one on his lower abdomen appeared as a thin lines hidden by the reddish brown fur of his back and the darker fur of his belly respectfully.

Ryuu ended the summer on a high note with three more certifications under his belt, promotions in his other classes, a new title, and the instructions he needed to eventually be able to transform himself into his animagus form. He would go on to sleep through the next forty-eight hours with only a few moment of lucidity while they traveled back to England as he'd pushed himself to his limits and exhausted himself. It hadn't helped that he'd been adding sixteen hours to his school days; turning for eight hours worth of classes and then adding an additional eight hours for sleep.

Healer Inoue had nearly banned him from using the time turner towards the end of the summer and would have if he'd known how close to exhaustion Ryuu would be once the session ended. As it was his next year at Hogwarts would see him dropping his hours back to four hours of extra time for classes and four hours for sleep only three days a week in order to reduce the risk of him stressing his body as he entered puberty.

After his power nap (as Sirius had called it) Ryuu felt much better and was actually looking forward to seeing a professional game of Quidditch. He wasn't an avid fan of the sport and he had no interest in playing himself but he did enjoy watching the school matches on occasion. He'd offered his extra tickets to his father, Hatake, Sirius, Remus, Satoshi, Luna and her father, Neville, and Hermione. Fred and George were going to the match as well, along with the rest of their family, and the twins were looking forward to introducing Ryuu to their oldest (and therefore coolest) two brothers.

His mother and Neville's grandmother would be going with them but would be staying in their campsite instead of watching the game. Shinjin and Nyanko would both be staying behind as well; Shinjin because she'd attract far too much attention and Nyanko so he could provide an added measure of security for those not watching the game. Xeno Lovegood provided the tent for their camp, Augusta Longbottom provided the food, and Hatake planned to ward their camp to prevent trouble from finding the two ladies that would be staying behind while they were in the stands. Sirius insisted on paying for everyone's souvenirs once they arrived; stating he had money to burn and it would make his parents roll in their graves to waste money on such frivolous nonsense.

A couple of days after they arrived in England and three days before they would be heading off for the World Cup, Takashi and Taki pulled Ryuu aside to talk to him. Ryuu grew nervous when he noticed how nervous they were behaving and wondered if they'd heard some bad news that in some way involved him. Turns out they were nervous for a whole different reason and Ryuu was left with mixed feelings; Taki was pregnant.

They'd not been actively trying for a child (though they both knew they wanted more children) and had planned on waiting for Ryuu to be just a bit older before they actually began trying for a child. Apparently the magic in the castle had interfered with Taki's birth control pills and they'd been a little less diligent about protection around the time Ryuu had been kidnapped when they'd needed the comfort and still believed the pills were working.

Ryuu was honestly happy for his parents; he knew they both loved children and he'd often listened to them talk about the day when they'd have a child. The reason he felt conflicted was because he wasn't certain what would happen to him once his new little brother or sister arrived. Babies need lots of care and attention and Ryuu knew his parents had given him a large chunk of their time in the past but with a baby in the family there wasn't going to be enough time in the day for his parents to spend with both of them.

He knew his parents wouldn't stop loving him, they'd proved it time and time again through the years; but he feared that he would take attention away from the new baby because of all the trouble he'd get into or that he'd need his mother or father only to find they couldn't be there to help him because the baby needed them. All in all, it was a pretty normal reaction to a new addition and his parents did their best to let him know they weren't going to let the new baby change the important aspects of their life because there was no doubt the new baby would bring about some changes.

The day before the day of the Quidditch Cup, their group arrived at their appointed campsite in the early morning. They were situated at the edge of the forest (as requested) and right next to what would become the Weasley campground in another day. Xeno, Sirius, and Remus set up the magical tent that at first glance appeared to be nothing more than a large canvas tent similar to what one would expect to find at a park being used for a family reunion in order to keep their food free from flies and the heat.

Once you stepped inside, the true magic of the tent was revealed as you stepped into a large, five bedroom, two bathroom house complete with kitchen and living room. Sirius stepped outside along with Hatake and the two of them set about securing the edge of their campsite with discreet wards that wouldn't be noticed by the non-magicals that managed the large stretch of moorland that the Quidditch Stadium had been erected on for this year's World Cup. Ryuu slipped outside with Shogun and Tenji to watch; the fourteen year old interested in seeing practical wards set up on a temporary location.

The rest of that first night was spent discussing what they could expect the next day when the game finally got underway. Satoshi, an avid sports fan, knew almost everything there was to know about the two teams; including their current team stats, what mascot they were likely to have brought, and the current odds on which team would win. Beyond the walls of their tent, the gathered crowd partied and argued as anticipation ran high as it drew closer to the start of the match.

Sunrise brought with it the arrival of half the Weasley family, the oldest three sons due to arrive via apparation later and the matriarch choosing to stay home. The twins eagerly greeted Ryuu and the others while Ron glared and stalked off on his own and Ginny hovered shyly near her father as he attempted to put up their barrowed tent.

Around noon, when the older boys arrived, Fred and George dragged the two oldest over to introduce them to everyone. Bill, the oldest, solemnly thanked Takashi and Taki for putting up with the twins and beating a semblance of manners into them which effectively made everyone who knew the twins laugh. That broke the ice and the two groups sat around outside chatting comfortably about the up coming game, the looming school term, and the career choices of the two eldest Weasley boys.

Bill worked for Gringotts Bank out of Egypt where he was a curse breaker; his job to retrieve priceless artifacts from deep within the pyramids while breaking the traps the Egyptian wizards had set up and cleaning the treasure of harmful curses. Charlie, the second oldest, was a dragon handler who worked on a reserve in Romania that raised approximately fifteen different types of dragons (and the one who'd arranged for Hagrid's dragon to be smuggled out of Hogwarts in Ryuu's first year).

Luna, in one of her quirkier moments, firmly told Charlie that he was not to try and steal her Dragon away to lock him up on the reserve. The group of friends laughed uproariously as Ryuu blushed bright red in mortification while Satoshi explained exactly who Luna's dragon was. He was further embarrassed when Charlie glanced at him before smirking and teasingly offering Luna a few tips for keeping her dragon in line. It was made even worse when the twins interjected that Luna could probably teach Charlie a few new tricks on how to properly train a dragon; Ryuu's mock glower promised painful and humiliating retribution.

Before they knew it, they were joining the line of fans heading into the stadium as the moment they'd been waiting for finally arrived. The Weasleys and Ryuu's group made their way up to the very top box where they had a brief, unpleasant encounter with the Malfoys. They also met the new British Minister of Magic who in turn introduced them to the Bulgarian Minister of Magic.

The game was officially opened by Ludo Bagman shortly after that as he introduced first the team mascots (veela for the Bulgarians and leprechauns for the Irish) before introducing the actual teams. The game itself was fast and brutal, lasting for nearly six hours before the Bulgarian's seeker, Viktor Krum, captured the snitch ending the game but giving the win to the Irish. The celebratory atmosphere that followed the game would be broken around midnight by the arrival of several masked Death Eaters torturing the non-magical family that managed the grounds and terrorizing the fans.

Pandemonium ruled for nearly an hour before the Dark Mark was suddenly seen hanging over the forest and sheer terror followed on the heels of the appearance of the green skull and snake. Hatake had kept their group safely contained in their campsite; their wards protecting them from the worst of the stampeding crowds and from the Death Eaters. The five youngest Weasleys had been brought into their camp when Arthur tried sending them fleeing into the forest before he'd gone to help contain the Death Eaters with the help of his two oldest boys.

When the Dark Mark rose, Ryuu stood and stared at the green glowing skull and snake with an unreadable expression on his face while all three of his familiars hissed, snarled, and shrieked angrily. Madara too stared at the glittering mark; his golden eyes calculating as he peered intently into the forest.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I know this chapter seems kind of rushed but there was a ton of things that needed to be included in preparation for Ryuu's fourth year. I'll also apologize to those readers that were hoping to read the entire Quidditch Cup match but since the game basically followed canon, I left it out instead. _

_The next chapter or two I post will be on Banished Destiny (the HP/Gundam Wing crossover I mentioned I'd be posting in the last chapter). Chapter 30 of Haunted will be up by next weekend so long as nothing else comes up. Anywho, hope you enjoyed the chapter. ~ Jenn_

**09-24-12:**_ Chapters 17 & 18 were reposted with minor edits._


	30. Magical Artifacts & Anonymity Don't Mix

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 29: Magical Artifacts and Anonymity Don't Mix <span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>September 1994 ~ October 1994<em>

The aftermath of the disaster that followed on the heels of the Quidditch World Cup pressed heavily on Ryuu and those who knew the truth of who he was. Sirius and Remus returned to Japan when the wizarding public (which still wasn't convinced of his innocence) blamed the pardoned wizard for the incident. Cornelius Fudge tried to turn the scandal to his advantage, stating it never would have happened if he'd still been in office and if Sirius Black's farce of a trial hadn't been allowed to happen. The man was quickly shut up though when it was revealed that Draco Malfoy's wand was the one used to cast the Dark Mark.

The scarred teen swore his wand had been stolen earlier in the evening and that he hadn't even been in the forest at the time but it was still enough to further tarnish the Malfoy name. The only reason no one was arrested at the time was because the wand had been found near the house elf that belonged to Barty Crouch Sr. (an elf that was later dismissed by Crouch). With all of the uproar over the incident at the Quidditch Cup, the news that Alastor Moody, the relatively new caretaker of Hogwarts apparently broke the Statute of Secrecy went unremarked upon.

The talk of some kind of international event taking place at Hogwarts that year had Ryuu feeling antsy and on edge as he dreaded what new form of torture would be foisted on him this year. A rather pessimistic outlook but one that was not wholly unexpected due to the number of incidents Ryuu had been drawn into over the past three years. The only thing keeping him from running back to Japan was the knowledge that his parents would once again be up at the castle this year as would Hatake, Kimura, and Satoshi; his long time friend returning to the school to help Hatake with the basic self defense classes and to provide extra security during whatever event would be taking place.

When September first finally arrived, Ryuu looked more like a prisoner walking to the gallows as opposed to a student heading back to school. His friends commiserated with him but they didn't really understand what was bothering the teen so much; since he'd never explicitly told them about encountering Voldemort's shade or that he was fated to fight the dark wizard until one of them died. Once on the train, Ryuu did make an effort not to bring everyone down with his moodiness; pulling out his pan flute and playing an uplifting tune or two as Shinjin and Shogun both joined in. By the time they arrived at the school he was feeling much better and was far less worried about what the new school year would bring.

His discomfort would return when he walked into the Great Hall with his friends, one of the last groups of students to arrive (not counting the first years). As one, the entire student body had turned to look at him with he stepped into the room with Shinjin perched on his right shoulder, Shogun perched on his left, and Tenji cradled in his arms. The presence of a second phoenix inside the castle (a phoenix that looked nothing at all like Fawkes whom many students had seen at least once) drew every eye and started more than a few tongues wagging. Ryuu froze for a moment and glanced back towards the door as if contemplating making a run for it as the wealth of attention had him feeling uncomfortable.

Satoshi leaned closer and whispered reassuringly in his ear, telling him to ignore the stares before steering him to his usual seat at the end of the Ravenclaw table. Thankfully, the attention of the student body soon shifted to the front of the hall as the first years entered and the sorting ceremony began with the hat's song explaining the different houses. Ryuu only paid close enough attention to clap when Dennis (Colin's little brother) was sorted into Gryffindor with his brother and any new student that was placed into Ravenclaw. The food appeared shortly after the last first year joined the Hufflepuff table and Ryuu turned his attention to taking care of his familiars as the volume in the hall rose as conversations sprung into life up and down the tables.

_Why aren't you sitting up at the staff table?_ Ryuu asked after a little while, finally realizing that his friend was still sitting beside him.

"I'm hurt!" Satoshi mock cried in pain. "Don't you want me here? I see how it is… I try to stick by your side to keep you company and glare at the masses when they annoy you and you just want to ship me off to the old people's table with the stuffy old goats."

_You did not just call Hatake-oji an old goat,_ Ryuu shot back in disbelief. _You know he's going to make you pay for that comment when he learns what you called him. And that you included okaasan in with the old men means she's going to go all teary eyed before she cruelly holds my taiyaki hostage; which means I'm going to have to hurt you._

"And who's going to tell Hatake-sensei I called him an old goat?" Satoshi challenged imperiously.

"Good evening, Professor Hatake," Luna sang out cheerfully making Satoshi whip around in panic.

Ryuu and Luna burst out laughing at the look on Satoshi's face before he realized Luna had just tricked him. The mutual teasing helped break up the tension once more and the three friends soon began discussing the upcoming term and speculating who the new Defense professor was for the year (Lupin having only signed a one year contract due to Black's escape and no desire to teach a second year now that he had a chance to reconnect with his childhood friend).

That sparked a friendly debate about the rumor of the Defense position being cursed, who could have cursed the position, and why someone would want to curse a teaching position. In no time at all the meal was over and the leftover food faded from sight as Dumbledore stood up to make the start of term announcements.

"Welcome to yet another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Before I introduce the new faces you see sitting before you I would like to make two very special announcements. First, I regret to inform you that the inter-house Quidditch competition which we run every year has in fact been canceled for the duration of this year."

This announcement drew loud cries of disbelief and protest from all four houses; specifically from those on the various Quidditch teams and those that were avid fans of the game; the Weasley twins easily the most vocal in their protestations.

"I am sure many of you are disappointed but I'm afraid that the school board will not change their mind on this matter. The reason for the cancellation directly relates to my second announcement. After much negotiation, the British Ministry of Magic in conjunction with the French and Bulgarian Ministries has agreed to reintroduce the Tri-wizard Tournament. As such, Hogwarts will be hosting a contingent of students from both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang who will arrive one week before Halloween. While they are here I expect each and every one of you to be on your best behavior."

After that, Dumbledore went on to give out the usual rules and introduced the new professors (including a few from the Japanese academy that would be taking the place of a few Hogwarts professors that had gone to Japan for the year). Ryuu barely paid any attention to the rest of the announcements though; he'd gone numb the moment Dumbledore announced that they would be holding a Tri-Wizard Tournament for the first time in over a century. Threading through his mind as he stared blankly at the table in front of him were the words of Headmaster Yamamoto from the day he'd been informed of the conditions that had been put into place in order for him to attend both Hogwarts and the Japanese academy.

_Of all the schools worldwide; only Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang have ever formed a conclave of institutions and are therefore the only three schools (until now) to even allow students from another school to enter the school grounds. And the last time one of the schools was visited by their sister school was over one hundred years ago during the final Tri-Wizard Tournament before the contest was canceled due to the soaring death tolls._

…_**the contest was canceled due to the soaring death tolls.**_

Ryuu felt a shiver of fear trace up his spine as he threaded his fingers through Tenji's fur in an effort to center himself and push away the sudden inexplicable feeling of impending doom that had settled over him. When the students were dismissed, Ryuu woodenly followed Luna and Satoshi back to the Ravenclaw Tower in a complete haze. They were joined halfway by Hatake, who would once again be staying in the guest quarters across from the entrance to Ravenclaw tower while Satoshi would be staying in the unused Head Boy's dorm in Ravenclaw Tower since this year the Head Boy was a Slytherin. Just before the trio entered the tower, Hatake pulled Ryuu aside and gestured for the other two to go on ahead.

"What's going on?" Hatake asked once the two of them were alone.

_Yamamoto-shishou once told me that the Tournament was canceled due to the soaring death toll,_ Ryuu stated bluntly. _Why bring it back now?_

"It was at the insistence of the Headmistress of Beauxbatons and the Headmaster of Durmstrang; they wished to solidify their position as sister schools to Hogwarts due to the developing relationship between Hogwarts and Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu over these past three years. They felt the newfound friendship between Britain and Japan threatened their covenant and rather than allow past treaties to be dissolved and create tension between three of the oldest schools in existence; they chose to reaffirm their ties. I will warn you now; you will be closely scrutinized by the heads of the other schools because you were the catalyst for the new relationship."

_Is it too late for me to fly back to Japan?_ Ryuu asked in all seriousness.

"It won't be that bad," Hatake reassured him softly. "They will watch how you conduct yourself, observe your current skill levels, and then forget about you as the Tournament kicks off."

_I've got a bad feeling about this, oji._

"I can't say as I blame you given everything that has happened over the past three years. You really don't have to worry; we'll keep a close eye on things. Maruyama-kun will be escorting you to your lessons with Kimura-senpai on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and to your afternoon classes following our training sessions in the dojo. Moody-san and I will be patrolling the halls at night along with the other staff as well."

_Do you think I'm overreacting, oji? Ever since the World Cup I've felt an extra weight pressing down on me. I keep seeing the Dark Mark when I close my eyes and in my dreams I see it hanging over the burning ruins of a house. The feeling is like an itch I can't quite reach and the longer it persists the more irritating it becomes. _

"I couldn't say if you are overreacting or not. All we can do is be alert and be prepared for anything. Try not to let it bother you too much. Go to bed and get some rest; I'm sure you'll feel better in the morning."

_Sleep? Are you kidding? The moment I walk into the tower I'm going to be assaulted with a million questions about Shinjin by the House of Clinically Insane Researchers born with C.N.S. _

"Do I even want to know what C.N.S. stands for?" Hatake asked with a chuckle over Ryuu's characterization of his fellow Ravenclaws.

_Chronic Nosiness Syndrome; symptoms include selective hearing, ability to speak for long stretches of time without breathing, and a limpet-like ability to cling to their victim with inhuman strength._

Hatake roared with laughter as he pushed Ryuu in the direction of the entrance to his tower. Ryuu rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue at his honorary uncle as he slapped his hand on the entrance in order to open the door. The moment he stepped inside he found himself face to face with his entire house and he sighed tiredly as his prediction from a moment ago came true. Before the first upper classman could open his mouth to start the virtual flood of questions, Ryuu pulled out his pan flute and wove the same sleeping spell he'd cast on the examiners during his illusionary trial at the end of the summer session.

Satoshi shook his head at Ryuu's underhanded tactics but didn't say anything as they headed up to the fourth year dorms after saying goodnight to Luna who was giggling madly as she glanced around at the entirety of Ravenclaw house sleeping on their feet. Ryuu didn't stop playing until they reached the safety of the dorm room. The spell would last for another two to five minutes after that and he used the time to get ready for bed while Satoshi watched him from his perch on Ryuu's bed.

He pulled the curtains shut around his bed three minutes later before crawling inside and slipping beneath his covers while Satoshi watched him with an unreadable look. When Ryuu looked up a moment later the nineteen year old asked him a question using hand signs so they wouldn't be overheard by Ryuu's dorm mates that were just now entering the room.

_What's been bothering you so much, Ryuu-kun? You've been pensive and on edge since the night of the World Cup and you completely spaced out during the middle of Dumbledore-shishou's announcements._

Ryuu bit his lip and glanced away from his friend as he shivered slightly. After a couple of minutes he tentatively replied, _I'm worried about what will happen this year. I've got a bad feeling and after everything else that's happened each year I can't help but worry what else could go wrong. The Tournament? The reason they stopped holding it in the first place was because of the number of people who died; champions and spectators alike._ He finally turned back to face Satoshi and met the gaze of his first friend; his emerald eyes filled with frustration and trepidation.

_Ryuu…?_

Ryuu shook his head and closed his eyes as he dropped back down onto his pillow. After a little while he sat back up and signed, _I'll be fine… I'm just tired and… well… tired. I'm sorry I've been such a wet blanket. You know I am glad that you're here again this year; it just wasn't the same without you last year. There's no one else here that plays an instrument or if there is they aren't interested in playing anything with any one else._

_They're probably just intimidated by your sheer awesomeness, _Satoshi countered with a soft snicker. _I mean really… it's hard to compete with the little punk kid that summoned two hundred phoenixes without even trying. _

_You're never going to let me live that down are you? I never imagined one phoenix would turn up… let alone ten different species of phoenixes. Why do you think they came that day? I mean… phoenixes are rare creatures and you almost never see more than one or two in a lifetime if you are lucky. _

_Why wouldn't they have come? You summoned them and they answered. I don't know how you manage to do half the things you do but I stopped being surprised by the things you do long ago. It doesn't matter what it is; once you make up your mind to do something you go out and do it. Sometimes it's hard not to be jealous of the things you've accomplished. You are the youngest Summoner in over three centuries. On top of that, you have an affinity with three different types of animals that allows you to command them fairly easily; mammals, birds, and reptiles. All you need now is to be able to summon fish, which I bet you could do right now if you tried. And you've more than proven that you have the ability to summon magical creatures._

_I don't want to be special,_ Ryuu flashed listlessly. _I don't try to stand out, it just happens. All I ever wanted was to make otousan proud. _

_There's nothing wrong with being special, Ryuu-kun. You have a gift and it would be a shame to hide it in the shadows and let it go to waste. I wish I had half the talent you have. I mean really, you are the only person I know that has a permanent patronus that follows them everywhere._

Ryuu glanced over to where Neko-chan was curled up at the foot of his bed, the silvery cat calmly staring back at him. Sometimes it seemed as if the longer the patronus stuck around the more life-like it became. There was even a few times where he'd mistaken the magical construct for Nyanko-sensei when he wasn't quite awake. He was a bit startled when Satoshi reached over and pushed him down onto his pillow.

_Go to bed, punk. Tomorrow is another day and we need to be up extra early._

_Tomorrow's Friday, why do I have to be up extra early? I don't have to meet with Kimura-sensei until six._

_Have you already forgotten? Didn't you tell me two weeks ago that you wanted to start on those exercises that McGonagall-sensei gave you? _

_I didn't forget about that… I was planning on doing them just before bed._

_Better to do them first thing in the morning when fewer people are awake. So quite your moaning and go to bed. Or do I need to get Luna to come tuck you in?_

_Alright! Alright! I'm closing my eyes! _ Ryuu quickly signed as he closed his eyes and snuggled down into his bed as he felt Satoshi playfully slap the back of his head before his weight shifted off the bed. A few minutes later, Ryuu drifted off to sleep as Tenji purred in his ear while Shogun watched over them from the headboard and Shinjin slept perched on Ryuu's side with her head tucked under one wing. Neko-chan's soothing aura of pleasant memories helping to keep the nightmares down to a minimum as Ryuu slept.

Satoshi was back at four the next morning dragging Ryuu out of bed. Ryuu wasn't even awake enough to protest as he was shoved into a robe and pulled out of the room with his three familiars bemusedly following along behind. Ten minutes later, they were clearing up the floor of an old forgotten storeroom until there was enough room for Ryuu to lie down on the floor. Once he was as comfortable as he could get on the cold stone floor, he closed his eyes and pictured himself in his mind. Once he had a firm image of himself he pictured the image of the red panda standing beside him; one that was based upon the magical picture that McGonagall had taken of his form the day she tested him at the end of the summer term.

Now came the hard part… he had to imagine the two images transforming into each other simultaneously; the process needed to be perfectly in sync otherwise when he finally began the actual transfiguration it would fail and he would either kill himself or permanently disfigure himself. The two images needed to be able to change seamlessly and smoothly without any hesitation and it would often take months of meditation and practice in order to achieve the synchronization needed. This was actually the hardest part of becoming an animagus; because most people tended to focus on one image at a time; treating them as two separate entities instead of being two halves of the whole.

That was why Ryuu had been so comfortable inside the body of the red panda when McGonagall had transfigured him; he saw the panda as a part of himself. The small mammal was the reflection of how Hatake viewed Ryuu and that knowledge allowed Ryuu to see the animal as a part of himself because of how much he valued Hatake's opinion. The fact that he did not distinguish between himself and the panda meant that there was no true difference between the mind of the animal and his human self.

Another mistake that people often made during this part of the training was to imagine the transformation as being the sudden replacement of one image with the other; instead of imagining the bodies physically changing. The problem with doing the transformation that way was that you stood a chance of loosing vital body parts or physically ripping your body apart; that was especially true where the size of your animal was considerably different in size or physical structure. The third most common mistake was trying to rush the transformation; it was far better to slowly build up the speed than to rush into the changes because there was always the chance you might miss something.

During this first session, Ryuu wasn't even trying to make either image transform. He was focusing on accuracy in the images he was viewing. Creating and dispelling the images until they appeared as realistic as possible each and every time he recalled them. He thought he might just be getting the hang of it when he felt someone prodding him and he opened his eyes to find Satoshi leaning over him.

"Time's up, Ryuu-kun."

_Already?_

"Already? You've been laying there for over an hour, buddy. It was rather boring just watching you snooze all morning."

_It didn't seem that long to me. _

"Do you think you made any progress?"

_Too soon to tell but I think I've managed to accurately picture what I look like as both myself and as my animal form. I'll keep working on that until I can call up both images at the same time without thinking about it. I'm not in any hurry to rush right to the transformation; I've got an entire year to perfect the transformation._

"I always knew you were a perfectionist," Satoshi joked as he helped Ryuu up off the floor and brushed the dust off his back. "What kind of schedule have you got planned for the rest of the day?"

_After I have my lessons with Kimura-sensei and eat breakfast, I have Intermediate Arithmancy followed by a study period before I have Transfiguration with McGonagall-sensei. Right after lunch I'll spend some time working on my high school assignments before I have History of Magic followed by lessons with ojisan. I then turn back two hours so I can attend Defense before supper. _

"What non-magical classes are you taking this year? And what level are you at now?"

_I'm basically in my second year of high school; I'm taking biology, world history, language arts, writing composition, French, geometry, and computer science. The only one that I am going to have problems with is the computer science lessons because I don't have access to a computer here. I can however, get all of the required reading out of the way for the class and do the practical work once the term is over._

"Why do you push yourself so hard? I mean… you're two or three years ahead of your age group in non-magical studies and light-years ahead of your peers in your magical studies and you never stop adding more to your schedule. How many mastery certifications do you have now?"

_I have five certificates of completion… plus the two titles,_ Ryuu admitted as he stopped and stared off in the distance without really seeing anything. _As to why… in the beginning it was because it was all I had, the only thing I could cling to that didn't inspire fear. Then it was because I couldn't stand being around the other children; nosy, noisy children that were constantly pushing into my personal space. Now? Now it's because I don't want to be weak._

"I don't think there's anyone out there that would call you weak," Satoshi snorted. "You've earned your first degree black belt in two different branches of martial arts, you're an official Summoner and Illusionist, you've been casting silently since you were ten, and you now have three highly intelligent familiars that are basically an extension of you and your magic (one of which is a rare phoenix). How the hell can you think yourself weak?"

_I have been kidnapped twice, I have been attacked by two teachers, I have been attacked by strange men, I've been attacked by shades and demons, and I can't go a year without having a near death experience._

"Ryuu… don't get all angsty on me," Satoshi growled with a frown and a mild glare. "I'm not trying to belittle what you've been through but don't you think you're dwelling on it a bit much? It's over and done with and if you keep focusing on all the bad things that happened you're never going to be happy."

Ryuu jumped a bit and jerked his head to the side to stare at Satoshi with wide eyes. It was the first time his friend had ever taken that tone with him and it made him stop and think; to actually examine his thoughts and behavior over the past week. The words rang true no matter how much he might have wished it otherwise and they hurt because that truth was not pleasant. He nodded slowly, shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking once again as he dropped his gaze to the floor.

The next seven weeks would see Ryuu putting a real effort into not dwelling on the past. He actually smiled and laughed with his friends, played with his familiars, and repaid Satoshi and the twins for all of their teasing at the Quidditch Cup. He also stopped thinking and worrying about what would go wrong this year; focusing instead on classes, his animagus exercises, and his extra lessons. His friends, family, and teachers all took note of his almost abrupt turnaround and all of them (except Satoshi who knew what had spurred the change) wondered what had happened.

Takashi and Hatake both cornered him after the first week and questioned him out of concern; wanting to make certain that he wasn't just hiding the anxiety he'd been feeling previously because that kind of behavior was self destructive. Ryuu sighed and told them that Satoshi basically called him a drama queen and informed him that he was letting himself get trapped in the past. He also told them that the truth had hurt all the more because he'd believed he'd put the past behind him when he'd really been holding onto it. The two most important men in his life had then told Ryuu they were proud of him for being willing to accept the truth and move on without blaming Satoshi for being the one to point it out.

Unfortunately, fate was about to rain on Ryuu's parade.

On the twenty-third of October, the entire student body and resident staff could be found standing outside the castle in freshly pressed robes as they waited for their guests to arrive in the late afternoon light. They'd been out in the chill wind for nearly an hour when the first indication that their guests were near came as a first year pointed out something flying towards the school. As one, everyone looked up in time to see a powder blue carriage pulled by six perfectly matched flying horses growing larger until it suddenly dropped down and rolled to a stop just a short ways away from the gathered students.

The Headmistress of Beauxbatons exited the carriage first and Ryuu was reminded of the Hogwarts Groundskeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor, Hagrid; she was impossibly tall with a robust frame. In comparison, the gaggle of girls that slipped down out of the carriage seemed dainty and fragile. Professor Dumbledore stepped forward to greet the Headmistress and welcome the students to Hogwarts, taking the time to introduce them to several prominent staff members before urging them to step inside the Entrance Hall out of the cold.

As the Beauxbatons contingent filed passed where Ryuu was standing, one of the girls happened to catch sight of Shinjin sitting on his shoulder and squealed in excitement before calling to her friends in rapid French. Ryuu only caught about a third of what the girl was saying but that was enough for him to realize that she not only recognized Shinjin as a phoenix but as a spirit phoenix. When several of the excited girls began converging on Ryuu or rather on Shinjin, Ryuu gave a sharp, short whistle and the phoenix vanished in a swirl of gold and silver dust; much to the disappointment of the girls who were now pouting at Ryuu.

Ryuu simply stared at them impassively; he was not about to allow these strangers to accost his familiar so callously. As if echoing their wizard's sentiments, Tenji and Shogun both hissed at the girls which had them backing away quickly. Once the girls had vanished into the castle, Ryuu relaxed a bit and soothed his two oldest familiars while the Hogwarts students waited for the rest of their guests to arrive. Thankfully, they didn't have to wait long before the students of Durmstrang arrived by boat from out of the Black Lake.

It was a rather neat bit of elemental magic and Ryuu wondered if they had an actual Elemental witch or wizard moving the vessel or if it was a complex transportation spell. As the fur wrapped wizards of Durmstrang walked down the gangplank Ryuu heard Ron Weasley practically gushing like a fan girl when it was noted that Viktor Krum was amongst the students. Ryuu glanced at the teen in question and couldn't help but think he looked more impressive on a broom. Two seconds later, Ryuu felt a stab of irritation as he caught sight of a familiar head of blonde hair sitting atop the scarred face of Draco Malfoy.

_First a gaggle of giggling girls threatening to mob Shinjin… now a cowardly braggart that I'd hoped to have seen the last of after the Quidditch Cup. Could this year get any worse?_ Ryuu thought to himself as he reached up and placed his hand over Shogun's face as the owl screeched at the blonde in question; the owl remembering the former Slytherin and not with any fondness.

When Malfoy looked in his direction, Ryuu stiffened at the smirk the other teen was wearing and felt once more the foreboding since of doom that had plagued him in the days after the appearance of the Dark Mark at the World Cup. A hand falling on his shoulder broke Ryuu out of his downward spiral and he glanced up to see his father standing behind him. Smiling briefly up at Takashi in thanks, Ryuu gave a soft whistle and soon felt Shinjin settling onto his shoulder once more as silver and gold dust landed in his hair and on his robes.

They headed inside a moment later with the rest of the students and Ryuu made a beeline for his usual seat at the end of the table and was joined by Satoshi and Luna a moment later. To Ryuu's disgust the Beauxbatons girls also joined the Ravenclaw table after they saw Ryuu once again had his phoenix on his shoulder. Worse yet the Durmstrang students sat at the Slytherin table which was right beside the Ravenclaw table and Ryuu had to force himself not to glare in Malfoy's direction as Dumbledore once again welcomed their guests before calling the feast to the table with a wave of his wand.

Satoshi's presence throughout the meal was a godsend as the nineteen year old rebuffed those girls that tried to sidle up in order to pet Shinjin or pester Ryuu with questions. Luna was a great help in keeping Ryuu's temper in check as the French witches continued their efforts. He finally got fed up with their constant attempts just as dessert was being served. Setting down his silverware a little harder than necessary, Ryuu told Satoshi and Luna he'd see them later before he walked out of the hall with his familiars in tow; not caring that he'd technically not been excused. He didn't know why they just couldn't leave him and his familiar in peace.

Up at the staff table, Madam Maxime sniffed disdainfully as she distastefully declared, "How rude."

"Yes, your students were extremely rude," Hatake agreed in an emotionless tone as he picked up his goblet of wine and took a small sip.

"My girls are zee epitome of perfection," Madam Maxime growled as she turned to glare at the gray haired wizard. "It waz zat leetle boy who waz rude."

"I agree, those girls were perfectly awful," Hatake persisted once again without letting the irritation he felt leak into his voice. "Such a tragedy too, thirty beautiful young ladies completely without manners and aplomb. I am impressed with Natsume-kun's restraint in tolerating them as long as he did before he maturely left."

"Now leesten here…"

"No; I will not listen to you insult my student," Hatake finally cut back with more than a little heat. "Your students have been trying to molest my student's familiar from the moment they saw her and Natsume-kun showed great restraint in not attacking them in return in order to protect her; his bonded familiar. Your students did not even think to ask for permission; they simply assumed that they should be granted the privilege of touching her (a privilege that not even Natsume's friends have been granted and they have known the boy for years and spent most of the summer around the phoenix). What your girls attempted to do is akin to molestation when it comes to a bonded familiar."

Hatake then stood up and tossed down his napkin before he addressed the large woman one last time, "I suggest you warn your girls to keep their distance and to never attempt to use magic to lure the phoenix away from Natsume-kun. He will defend the phoenix's honor with the viciousness of a mother bear protecting her young; the same as he has done for his other two familiars in the past. If you will excuse me, I need to track down my student; so that I might comfort him and assure him that he and his familiars will not be allowed to be molested."

As he left, he glanced over at Ryuu's parents and noted that they were both worried. He quickly flashed them a message to let them know he'd take care of the troubled fourteen year old before he slipped out of the Great Hall. He spent the next hour tracking the elusive boy down only to find him in the dojo calmly lavishing attention on all three of the animals with the help of his elf; feeding the still young phoenix fresh cherries and dried pineapple. The elf had provided fresh roasted wood pigeon for Shogun and lightly grilled salmon for Tenji and sat grooming the kneazle with a cat brush as he ate.

"Ryuu-kun?"

_Gomen nasai, oji,_ Ryuu signed between offerings to the phoenix. _I should not have entered the dojo without permission. We needed the privacy and this was the first place I could think of to go where I would not be bothered by other students and still be easily found should someone come looking for me._

"No harm done, Ryuu-kun. Although next time I would prefer you not allow your familiars to eat in the dojo."

_We didn't get to finish our meal and while I can go without a bit longer; I did not wish for Shogun, Tenji, and Shin to do the same. It will not happen again._

"As I said, there was no harm done. I spoke with Madam Maxime about her student's behavior and warned her to keep them in check from this point forward. If they continue to harass you, give them fair warning before showing them your teeth; they can't say they haven't been warned that way."

_I appreciate you interceding on my behalf with the French witches; I don't yet know enough French to communicate clearly and I don't trust them not to feign ignorance if I use English. I understood enough of what they said to know they weren't intending on giving up anytime soon, which was why I left._

"Understandable and very mature decision. Now, I noticed your reaction to Malfoy earlier; how do you plan to react to his presence here in the castle?"

_I will ignore his mouth and watch his hands._

"Good answer. What will you do if he retaliates over what happened last year?"

_Should he attempt to harm my familiars a second time he will never again be able to hold a wand or walk; that's if he survives,_ Ryuu replied with curt slashes of his hands.

"I will make certain that Dumbledore-shishou warns Karkaroff-sama to keep the boy in line. Just be doubly sure that you do not provoke him and that he makes the first move; and no, I'm not saying to let him hurt you or your familiars."

_Wakaru, oji. _

"Make certain you speak with Maruyama-kun or Lovegood-chan before you turn in tonight; they both stayed to listen to tonight's announcements and it is best you know what to expect over this next week."

Ryuu nodded as he gracefully rose to his feet without disturbing the diminutive phoenix perched on his left arm. Dobby snapped his fingers and all of the messes made by the familiars were immediately vanished before he too vanished with a small pop. Shogun and Tenji returned to their accustomed perches, the kneazle literally climbing up Ryuu's leg and back to reach the teen's shoulder. If Ryuu felt the bite of the cat's claws he didn't show it as he patiently waited for the two animals to settle before he walked towards the door. Hatake fell into step beside him and they leisurely made their way up to the Ravenclaw Tower.

The next week was difficult for Ryuu but not impossible as he tolerated the numerous glares and curious glances directed his way from both foreign contingents of students. Shinjin spent most of her time in his parent's quarters under the watchful gaze of Dobby during the week and the poor phoenix wasn't pleased with the separation. Ryuu always made it up to her when they were together but that didn't make it any easier for the phoenix.

The only reason he left her behind was to give the French time to adjust to the idea that they would not be given permission to manhandle the young phoenix. It also gave them time to hear all of the tales circulating through the school about Ryuu's past three years at Hogwarts to give them some idea of what Ryuu was capable of and how quick he was to defend his familiars from anyone; including professors.

Someone (Ryuu suspected one of his roommates or Malfoy) had attempted to spread a rumor about an inappropriate relationship going on between Ryuu and Satoshi but the rumors wouldn't stick. Part of that was because the two of them rarely ever spent time alone unless they were walking through the castle in full view of students and staff (not counting their early morning sessions where Ryuu worked on his animagus transformation which no one knew about). The other part was Luna's ready declarations that her Dragon wasn't the type of boy to seduce a teacher or teacher's aide.

The rumor was further shot down by Satoshi who willingly showed off pictures of Kimi, who'd consented to be his girlfriend about six months earlier (much to the despair of Fred Weasley who'd still been crushing on the sixteen year old). Ryuu simply reminded those people who dared ask him that he'd known Satoshi for close to six years now and saw the older boy as more of an older brother rather than just a close friend.

On Friday night the Goblet of Fire was set up in the Entrance Hall and an age line drawn around the artifact in order to prevent those who were not seventeen from putting their names in the goblet. More than a few determined students that hadn't quite met the age requirement ended up in the infirmary with long white beards after trying to bypass the line with charms, potions, and other various disguises. Ryuu shook his head when he witnessed the Weasley twin's embarrassing attempt and laughed when they bowed to their audience as if the entire thing had been a planned act.

Malfoy tried to taunt Ryuu about being a coward for not entering but Ryuu simply ignored him; he knew he had trouble enough without inviting more by entering a dangerous tournament designed for competitors that were three years older than him. Because Ryuu ignored him and didn't even acknowledge the annoy brat, Malfoy lost face and appeared immature when compared to his fellow Durmstrang students who were emotionless, stoic, and more than a little embarrassed at being forced to put up with the younger boy; a fact that wasn't lost on the rest of the students in the castle.

Halloween morning found Ryuu waking up with another feeling of intense foreboding. He'd grown to dislike the holiday over the previous three years at Hogwarts; though last year hadn't been as bad as the ones in his first and second years. He'd come to link the day with everything bad that had happened to him though (given that it had been a Halloween night when his birth parents had been murdered and the events that happened on Halloween night in the castle usually set the tone for the rest of the year).

This year he'd made it to the actual feast for the second time in a row and he sat nervously at the end of the Ravenclaw table beside Satoshi and Luna with his three familiars and Nyanko-sensei curled up on and around him. When he managed to make it through the meal and dessert without any sign that things were going to go down hill any second, Ryuu slowly began to relax thinking he'd managed to dodge the bullet for the first time.

Sadly his relief was about fifteen minutes premature.

Immediately after the last of the desserts disappeared from the tables, Moody entered the Great Hall pushing a small cart upon which stood the Goblet of Fire. The grizzled ex-Auror transported the magical artifact up to the front of the room and situated it in front of the staff table where everyone would be able to see it clearly. Ludo Bagman then stood and walked around to the front of the staff table as he applied a weak Sonorus Charm to his throat before addressing the room at large.

"Good evening honored guests, faculty, and students. It is my pleasure to have been selected to announce the names of the three champions that will soon be selected to participate in the one hundred and thirty-ninth Tri-Wizard Tournament," Bagman intoned dramatically as the lights in the hall dimmed and the flames of the goblet flared brightly and turned red.

A few seconds later a small scrap of parchment was spat out of the flames and Bagman deftly plucked it from the air and instructed, "Once I call your name please make your way up to the front of the hall and step into the antechamber to your left where you will be briefed on the first task you will face." Bagman then paused as he uncurled the slip of paper before reading off, "The champion for Durmstrang Institute is… Viktor Krum!"

Applause broke out as the surly Quidditch star rose to his feet and made his way to the front of the hall where he bowed to the tournament judges and officials that had attended the feast before disappearing into the antechamber. Anticipation was high as the goblet's flames flared red a second time before a second piece of paper was shot up into the air.

"The champion for Beauxbatons Academy of Magic is… Fleur Delacour."

A beautiful witch with silvery blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes rose gracefully from her seat while her schoolmates burst into tears over their failure to be chosen. The young champion practically floated between the tables before she curtsied to those seated at the staff table and moved to join her fellow champion in the antechamber. The door had barely closed behind her when the flames turned red for what should have been the third and final time.

"And our final champion, representing Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is… Cedric Diggory."

The Hufflepuffs went wild as the burly sixth year rose to his feet and practically bounded up to the front of the hall where he saluted the officials and judges before trotting off to the antechamber. The rest of the Hogwarts students offered polite applause, even the Slytherins (if only because the champion had not been a Gryffindor).

"And there we have our three champions! The first task will take place on… take place on…" Bagman lost track of what he was saying and trailed off as the goblet's flames turned red and flared brightly one last time, unexpectedly. The former Quidditch star jumped and turned around to glance back at the other officials in puzzlement before turning around in time to see a forth slip of paper come flying out of the flames.

He snagged the paper out of the air as he stated in a stunned voice, "Well, this is a bit of a shock. I don't believe a forth champion has ever before been chosen; most irregular and at the same time immensely exciting. Well, shall we see who our lucky fourth contestant is?"

Numbness settled over Ryuu's heart and soul as the portly wizard unrolled the slip of paper and gasped loudly as his eyes bugged out comically in pure shock. At the same time Ryuu felt as if he was being squeezed as a band of invisible magic wrapped around him and settled over his core. Meanwhile, up at the front of the hall, Bagman began smiling in pure excitement as he lifted his eyes and announced to the world.

"Our unexpected fourth champion… representing a school unknown… is… I really can't believe this… When we'd been told he would not be attending Hogwarts when the time came the wizarding world feared the worst. And yet tonight we finally have proof that our young hero yet lives! I give you our fourth champion; Harry Potter!"

The entire assembly froze and for a full minute not a single sound was heard as everyone glanced around in hopes of spotting the missing celebrity. Up at the staff table Dumbledore, Hatake, Kimura, Flitwick, Takashi, and Taki as one sought out Ryuu with their eyes; the concern and worry plainly evident on their faces. A full minute and a half after Bagman's announcement there was a loud crash from the end of the Ravenclaw table and all eyes swiveled in that direction.

Ryuu couldn't breathe… his mind kept replaying Bagman's words over and over again in his mind even as he denied the truth of what his ears had just told him, _This isn't happening. This isn't happening. Not here…. not now! This wasn't supposed to happen! Why is this happening!? No… no… I didn't want this… never this…_ Once it fully dawned on him that one of his greatest fears was actually coming true he'd shot up out of his seat in a panic and knocked several plates, cups, and other dishes over onto the floor as he stumbled. All eyes turned on him and he could feel the disbelief, realization, and shock in their gazes as he began shaking his head in denial as he backed away.

"As I live and breathe… Dumbledore you old goat! Do you mean to tell me that you've been hiding the Boy-Who-Lived right in plain sight for the last three years?" Bagman bellowed as his eyes hungrily landed on Ryuu.

Ryuu was still shaking his head in denial as he continued to back up until he bumped into the wall, his eyes darting left and right as he took in the number of people standing up and craning their necks in order to get a better look at him. He briefly caught the eyes of his friends sitting at the Gryffindor table and he felt his heart constrict as he saw the shock, hurt, and betrayal in more than one of pair of eyes. Desperately he sought out Satoshi and while the older boy was stunned his eyes held understanding and Ryuu felt the pain in his chest ease the slightest bit as he let his eyes slip to meet Luna's serene gaze where he saw unconditional acceptance.

"Don't be shy boy! We'd all like to know how you managed to enter the contest and why you chose now to unveil yourself after all these years!" Bagman ordered as he began heading in Ryuu's direction.

Ryuu shook his head yet again, the panic in his eyes growing as he stared up at the staff table in horror as he realized they were going to make him compete. He knew it; he could feel the contract magic pressing down on his core and as true shock set in, his knees gave out on him and he slid down the wall. When several adults descended on him, including Bagman and a few of the other officials, his familiars became agitated and confrontational. Whispers broke out up and down the student tables as more than one argument broke out between the adults while Satoshi rose to his feet and approached Ryuu tentatively.

"_Ryuu-kun…?_" Satoshi asked softly in Japanese as he crouched down beside the unresponsive fourteen year old. "_Can you stand? It would be best if we move to the antechamber so we can get this thing figured out. I can only imagine that you'd prefer to be away from all of the staring eyes."_

_Please tell me this is a nightmare, Satoshi-kun. Please… please tell me this isn't happening. _Ryuu practically begged as he finally glanced up at his first friend with tormented eyes. _ I never wanted… I never thought… I just wanted to be me… I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to tell you… I tried so many times but I was so afraid._

"_It's alright, Ryuu-kun, I'm not angry and I understand why you didn't say anything. You forget, I know how much you dislike attention and if you'd made your secret known you'd have been the center of attention even more so than you already were. I wish I could tell you this was nothing but a dream but I can't._"

Ryuu didn't fight his friend as he helped him to his feet and propped his shoulder under Ryuu's left arm in order to support him when he knees didn't want to hold his weight. His father was soon supporting him on the right as Hatake and Kimura cleared the way as Satoshi and Takashi led him to the antechamber; his familiars flying or trotting in their wake. The three headmasters, several staff members, and all the tournament officials converged on the side chamber as well while Professor McGonagall dismissed the rest of the students and told them to return to their common rooms or guest quarters.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gomen nasai – I'm sorry  
>Ojiojisan – uncle  
>Otousan – father<br>Wakaru – I understand (present tense)

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _What a chapter... Ryuu was outed as a closet drama queen full of angst and his __identity as the Boy-Who-Lived has finally been exposed to the world at large… The next chapter will have the various reactions to Ryuu's unveiling and the fallout of his name being selected by the Goblet of Fire.  
><em>

_No previous chapters were updated this time around though you can expect another two or three chapters to be updated when I post the next chapter sometime over the next week. ~ Jenn  
><em>


	31. A Soul Laid Bare

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 30: A Soul Laid Bare to the Eyes of the World <span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>All Morning, November 1, 1994<em>

Ryuu hadn't been able to sleep at all the night before. He'd spent over two hours locked in the antechamber with the officials, faculty, champions, and his parents as the adults argued back and forth about the validity of his selection as a fourth champion. He'd been insulted by half of the adults present and by two of the three 'proper' champions and nearly attacked Severus Snape when the man began sniping at how he should have know he was James Potter's spawn with his arrogance. His father had decked the wizard first; warning the potions master to never insult his son or the dead in his presence again.

It was Ryuu himself that ended all of the arguments about whether or not he should be allowed to compete when he'd finally 'spoken' for the first time since his short conversation with Satoshi; _I have no choice… I felt the contract settle over my core. If you do not allow me to compete my familiars and I will be stripped of my magic and we will die._

His mother had started crying as Takashi held her close and Ryuu bowed his head in shame over causing his mother pain. Shortly after that it was decided that Harry Potter would represent the Japanese Vocational School of Sorcery so that Hogwarts would not unfairly have two champion in the tournament and Kimura-sensei left to contact Headmaster Yamamoto so a representative could assigned to stand in for the headmaster (if he was unable to come himself) and a selection of students could be brought to support his efforts in the tournament. It was only fair after all, seeing as how all three of the other schools had the support.

It was at that moment that Alastor Moody entered the room and three things happened at once; Tenji and Shogun attacked the wizard, Moody raised his wand to attack the familiars in return, and Ryuu's demeanor did an abrupt turn around as he took the man out with a couple of well placed blows with his hanbo. The fourteen year old was immediately accosted by the other adults present only for him to hold his hanbo out defensively with one hand as he signed a single sentence; _That is not Moody-san; Moody-san can not attack me or my familiars, he is oath bound._ The possible imposter was securely tied and taken to another room while the aurors were contacted and the officials went back to the discussion at hand.

The next biggest argument was over what name Ryuu would be required to use in the tournament since legally he was Natsume Ryuu but was contracted to the tournament as Harry Potter. Ryuu adamantly stated that he would not, under any circumstances, acknowledge anyone who called him by his birth name. That meant that if they announced him at the tasks as Harry Potter he would not step forward. He would rather risk his magic and his life than to cater to the expectations of the wizarding public.

He was Natsume Ryuu and the sooner the world accepted that, the better. That declaration had flustered many of the adults present; including Dumbledore who knew exactly what Ryuu was risking should he willingly give up his magic as he threatened he would. Ryuu didn't care though; he was not about to allow the world to take that which he'd fought so hard to make his own; his name.

After that was resolved, the officials debated on how they would handle the tasks now that there were four champions and it was decided that they would add a fourth task but would wait until the representative from Japan was chosen so that individual could add his or her input. From there the four champions were given the rules for the first task that would be taking place on the twenty-sixth of November and told that they would be required to demonstrate their bravery in the face of the unknown.

About that time the disguise that the imposter had been wearing wore off to reveal a much younger man that the aurors watching over him immediately recognized as Barty Crouch Jr.; the son of Barty Crouch Sr. and a former Death Eater who had reportedly died in Azkaban more than ten years earlier. The man was to be interrogated by the Ministry officials present and a few other select individuals once the champions had been dismissed for the evening. Ryuu remained behind after his father requested for him to be present during the interrogation since Ryuu had been placed at risked by his unwilling entry into the tournament and by the man's attempted attack on his familiars just now.

The interrogation that followed revealed that Ryuu's birth name had been placed into the cup by Crouch Jr. in order to draw the boy out of hiding on the orders of his master; Moody having been the one assigned to watch over the Goblet each evening. As the conspiracy to bring the Dark Lord back to power was revealed more than one person became ill; only those that had been aware of the two times Ryuu had faced Voldemort's shade in his first and second year weren't surprised and horrified by the revelation. Satoshi, who'd stuck to Ryuu's side like glue the entire night, had nearly collapsed as he suddenly realized the significance of Ryuu's statement and concerns at the beginning of term had been valid.

Measures were taken to insure that the news of Voldemort's attempted return would not be leaked to the public and Crouch Jr. was Obliviated and allowed to resume his role as Voldemort's spy in the castle in the hopes of turning the trap around on Voldemort. The real Moody was found and treated before they asked him to play along with the scheme to which he willingly agreed after hearing that Ryuu had been the one to uncover his imposter; all thanks to an oath the grizzled old auror had given on a whim over a year ago.

Takashi had been vehemently opposed to using Ryuu as bait for the counter trap since they hadn't been told exactly how Crouch was supposed to get him out of the castle so he could be used in the resurrection ritual but in the end he caved in knowing it was too late to stop it; Ryuu was already bound to the tournament.

Once the interrogation was over, Takashi had taken Ryuu back to his private quarters along with Taki, Hatake, and Satoshi in order to spare Ryuu from the expected interrogation slash confrontation with his fellow Ravenclaws. The moment he entered his parents' quarters, Ryuu had curled up in the corner of the couch and fallen into his mind to flee the stress of the evening. He'd stayed in that meditative trance all night long; not aware of the world around him and not truly resting as he threw himself into his animagus exercises because they required his complete attention.

The three adult males present had taken turns watching over him through the night, Taki going to bed early since the stress of the evening combined with her pregnancy had sapped her strength. Takashi had split his time watching over Ryuu and worrying about his wife and the baby; his concern for all three evident in the lines on his face. Ryuu's familiars had stoically stayed by Ryuu's side, their concern for their wizard evident in their nervous twitches and soft mutterings. Shinjin would occasionally burst out into a song of encouragement and hope that would help lift their spirits for short periods of time but since she was young her magic wasn't any where near as strong as an older phoenix's (such as Fawkes; since he had centuries of experience and magic at his disposal).

When the sun rose in the morning and Ryuu still showed no signs of leaving his mind, Kimura was called in to see if he could get through to the teen using Legilimency. Kimura readily agreed; the wizard just as worried about Ryuu's state of mind after everything that had happened the night before. Once inside the teen's mind, Kimura had been shocked to find himself inside of an overgrown bamboo forest instead of the usual sterile room that Ryuu presented as his mindscape. Moving through the forest in search of his young student, Kimura found himself being impressed by the details of the mental projections; all five of his senses telling him that he was really walking through a bamboo forest despite the fact that he knew he wasn't.

When he finally found the kid he was stunned to find him playing tag with a red panda in a cherry tree in the center of a clearing. The most shocking thing of all though, was that both boy and panda were constantly transforming back and forth as the climbed through the tree, dropped to the ground, raced over the forest floor, and tackled one another. A few minutes after he arrived, two pairs of green eyes caught sight of him standing there and they both jumped in shock as the forest suddenly melted around them to once again reveal the normal sterile room that Ryuu used to welcome visitors to his mind. A moment later the red panda and boy transformed one last time before the panda and teen suddenly merged into one form and it was just Ryuu standing in front of him.

"Natsume-kun? What were…?"

_I didn't want to think about what happened…_ Ryuu admitted in sign, his voice absent even here in his mind. _I'm sorry, sensei; I didn't mean to worry anyone. I haven't been gone for too long have I? I'm certain okaasan and otousan would have wanted to talk to me tonight. _

"You've been in here all night," Kimura stated. "Everyone is concerned but they understood you needed some time to cope with what happened. They just didn't think you'd still be here once morning arrived. How… how did you…?"

_All night? Strange, it feels like I've only been here for a few minutes,_ Ryuu replied in surprise before he focused on the partial question his long time instructor had asked. _What is it you wish to know, sensei?_

"How were you able to… the panda… is that your animagus form? How is it you have such control?"

_Yes… I… I didn't tell anyone except for McGonagall-sensei what form I chose because I wanted to surprise ojisan. You won't tell him, will you? And I'm not that good at controlling the transformations yet; it's still too slow and not nearly as seamless when we're running around. It's hard to follow when we change in mid-jump or while climbing up the tree because my hands aren't as good at climbing as when I have my claws._

"I won't spoil your surprise. Does McGonagall-senpai know how far you've progressed? When do you find the time to practice?"

_I haven't talked to McGonagall-sensei about it yet; I wanted to wait until I got better. And Satoshi watches over me every morning before classes and our lessons for about an hour. He makes certain I don't loose myself in my mindscape; especially after I started having them transform while in motion about a week, week and a half ago. _

"I think you should speak with McGonagall-senpai soon and show her what you can do. Based upon what little bit I witnessed you are close enough to an actual transformation that if you're not careful you will change unexpectedly and I would not wish for anything to go wrong. In the mean time, please come on out; your body is going to need rest and something to eat."

_Hai, sensei._

The moment Ryuu opened his eyes he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him as the long hours spent in his mindscape hit him all at once. He slipped sideways a bit only to find himself half draped over Hatake's lap and he blushed and tried to sit back up only for his pseudo uncle to push him back down.

"You're fine, Ryuu-kun; just rest," Hatake urged as he carded his fingers through Ryuu's hair. The gray-haired wizard then looked up at Kimura and arched an eyebrow as he stared pointedly at the slightly younger man with his mismatched eyes.

"I found him far removed from reality; playing tag with himself and his animagus form," Kimura replied in bemusement as he watched the interactions between his fellow instructor and student. "It was… quite startling to watch."

"Oh? I'm curious… what is his form? He hasn't breathed a word of it to anyone that I know."

"He swore me to silence. I will say that he has taken to the form as if he were born to it though. I don't think I've ever witnessed such a seamless transition between human and animal before. He made it look so easy. And yet he believes he still needs to work on it because the transformation was too slow and he had trouble keeping the transformation smooth when in motion."

"Ryuu-kun is a perfectionist," Satoshi announced with a yawn as the nineteen year old stumbled into the room on the heels of Kimura's words. "He spent the first two weeks of his exercises doing nothing but forming the images of himself and his animal form. He stubbornly insisted that he needed to be able to call them up without taking the time to focus on the details before he even thought about making them transform."

"He's making the mental transformation while he pictures his forms in motion?" Hatake asked in surprise. "And I'm not surprised he's obsessed with perfection; it's a habit left over from when he first learned to write kanji from what Takashi told me. Even the littlest mistakes making it difficult to communicate when he was first learning Japanese."

"He wasn't just in motion, both forms were climbing trees, flying through the air, and transforming on the fly as they played tag," Kimura clarified as he stared down at the now sleeping teen. "Not only that but he'd formed a realistic habitat that they were playing in and if I hadn't known I was in his mindscape I would have thought I was in an actual forest; it looked, smelled, and felt real. McGonagall-senpai needs to check on his progress before he accidently transforms without proper supervision in the event he skips a step or two because he's a natural."

"You know what the saddest thing is…? He'd be the first to tell you he's nothing special," Satoshi murmured as he too watched Ryuu sleeping. "I've known him since he was not quite ten and he's always stood head and shoulders above the rest of us but in his mind he was forever looking up at everyone else. Humble and modest but with a stubborn streak a mile wide and surpassed only by his temper when his familiars are threatened."

"Hard working and intelligent too," Kimura added. "He constantly pushes himself; even more so since what happened during his second year. What about you, Maruyama-kun? How are you handling the revelation that Natsume-kun is Hari Potter?"

"It was a shock; there's no doubt about it. Yet it isn't really all that big of a surprise; I mean it almost makes sense given everything he's done since that first summer. It doesn't change who he is. He's still my honorary little brother."

"Ryuu-kun will appreciate that far more than you could ever imagine," Takashi quietly stated as he came out to check on his son. "His biggest fear has always been his friends hating him for hiding who he was born as. How do you think the others are handling it?"

"Luna-chan is Luna-chan; last night she acted as if she'd always known and I have no doubt that she will stand beside her 'Dragon' no matter what. She's such a… she's so different from any other girl I've ever met and sometimes I swear she's not quite all there as she drifts through her day but she is very intelligent and she knows just what to say to cheer everyone up. The others? I couldn't say. Before last night I would have said they'd have stood by Ryuu no matter what but I think the shock of learning who he was has affected them more because they grew up with stories of the Boy-Who-Lived. Ryuu saw something in their expressions that shook him up last night though; just before his knees gave out on him."

"They'll come around eventually," Hatake insisted. "They are good children and once they've had a day or two to think about it they will forgive him for keeping his past a secret. He's always tried to be honest with them and they will see that with a bit of time and reflection."

"I'm more worried about how the rest of the students are going to react along with the rest of the world," Kimura stated into the short silence. "He won't care about their feelings or opinions for the most part but how they treat him is going to have a large impact on how he handles the fallout from last night. He'll have fan girls and fan boys looking for friendship and more from him, power hungry politicians looking to use him for personal gain, angry witches and wizards that will call him all kinds of names because he was hiding himself, enemies looking to take advantage of his renewed publicity to harm him, and ravenous reporters looking for any hint of a scandal."

"We'll need to prepare him to face the press at some point. Maybe do a press conference in order to beat the rumor mongers to the punch that way they can't twist this to their advantage to make trouble for Ryuu," Hatake suggested with a thoughtful frown. "Warn him that they'll try to twist and turn everything he says and does."

"I know he's dealt with the press on a few occasions what with the trouble over the Malfoy incident and then again this summer at Black's trial but he'll be under even more scrutiny now. You should be prepared for them to use your wife's pregnancy as a reason for Ryuu suddenly 'seeking attention' or even you and your wife's presence in the castle. Making him out to be a rebellious teen or possible twist it to make it seem like you were forcing him to hide who he was and that this was his way of getting out from 'under your thumb'."

"I already sent a note to Bongledash regarding what happened," Takashi replied wearily. "Warning him of the possible fallout and asking him for advice on how to mitigate the damage. I think what would hurt him the most right now was if anything that happened to him before I adopted him was made public; though it's possible that having all of his adventures over the past three years splashed across the front page a second time in more detail would bother him as well. I just don't know which way last night's revelation is going to push him once the shock has worn off. Is he going to sink back into old insecurities and fears? Is he going to be angry and lash out at every one? Is he going to ignore it all? Will he be strong enough to handle the stress on top of both his classes and the stupid tournament?"

"He'll start out insecure and then he'll get angry… after a while he'll just ignore everyone and he'll walk with his head held high because he'll refuse to bow down to anyone. He's already gotten over some of the shock but once he gets out there among the other students is when he'll go through the full spectrum of emotions," Hatake hypothesized, the older wizard using his knowledge of how Ryuu had reacted to stress in the past to predict how he would react now. "He'll flounder for a bit until he throws himself forward with all he has; much like he did in second year when he went to confront the person behind the basilisk attacks."

"True…" anything else Takashi might have added was cut off as a knock sounded outside the quarters and he got up to answer the door. To his surprise he found a contingent of students and staff led by Luna and Himiko; all of them carrying various boxes and dishes. "He's sleeping finally…"

"That's alright," Luna replied serenely "My Dragon will need cheering up and food when he wakes and he's not going to get either of those in the Great Hall this morning; the wrackspurts have infested even our guests and half the staff."

"We can't have our little buddy …" Fred started.

"…thinking we'd abandon him …" George added.

"…over the biggest prank ever played on the entire wizarding world," they finished together.

"We were caught off guard last night but Ryuu's our friend; no matter what name he calls himself," Neville insisted firmly; all traces of his former shyness long gone.

"Ryuu's never lied to us… so if he didn't tell us there had to be a good reason for him hiding his past. And after seeing the way everyone else has been behaving all night and all morning I can't say as I blame him," Hermione added softly.

"What they said," Colin stated simply.

"I would have told them not to bother you but they were quite insistent," Flitwick revealed with a fond smile. "And since I was planning coming down here to check on my brave young eagle anyway, I thought it would be easier to keep them out of trouble if I brought them with me instead of leaving them on their own."

"I have a reply from Headmaster Yamamoto," McGonagall added seriously. "Headmaster Dumbledore was already in contact with him when he received the letter from Professor Kimura earlier this morning. I also wanted to see how Mr. Natsume was doing after last night."

"You may all come in but please try to keep it down; Ryuu-kun was up all night and just finally fell asleep," Takashi allowed after studying the earnest and determined faces of the six children.

"Ah, McGonagall-senpai! Just the witch I was hoping to see sometime today," Kimura crowed with a wide grin as the Deputy Headmistress walked into the room behind the flock of children. "I know Natsume-kun took your class on Animagus Training this past summer and I had a couple of questions about his progress that I'd like to discuss with you when you have a few minutes."

"Is he struggling with the exercise? I would have expected that at the beginning of summer because of his age but he really surprised me when he demonstrated complete control of his chosen form and never struggled to maintain his human mind."

"No, quite the opposite in fact; I'm worried that he's so far advanced that he might accidentally skip a step without meaning to and force the transformation without someone there who could guide him through anything that goes wrong."

"Oh? He's got the seamless transformation down in his mindscape already?"

"He would disagree but I'd say yes, he's more than got the seamless transition between the two forms down," Kimura remarked as he sent a half grin at the teen sleeping half draped over Hatake's lap. "I've never seen anything so utterly remarkable as what he apparently spent the entire night doing."

McGonagall passed the letter from Yamamoto to Hatake, to whom it was addressed, before moving off to one side to discuss Ryuu's training with Kimura. Takashi helped the children set the food and drinks they'd brought on the coffee table and called for Dobby to bring plates, utensils, cups, and napkins. The kids then sat down around the table on the floor as they dished up their food and cast curious and worried glances at Ryuu. Hatake opened the letter from the headmaster and began reading while he kept on hand on Ryuu's shoulder to keep the teen from rolling off if he should move in his sleep.

The new arrivals had only been there for about twenty minutes and eating silently when Ryuu began tossing and turning in his sleep. The two boys who'd shared a dorm with Ryuu during the summer sessions easily recognized the signs of one of Ryuu's nightmares as did Hatake and Takashi. To the others, who knew Ryuu suffered from nightmares but had never seen him have one before (not counting the three that had witnessed the dementor induced nightmare from the train ride the previous year), it was a shock to see him screaming and struggling without making a sound. When Hatake finally managed to pull Ryuu out of the nightmare the fourteen year old came out of it fighting.

Those who'd taken aikido and ju jitsu lessons with Hatake were shocked when the older wizard came out of the short scuffle sporting a black eye, split lip, and bloody nose. It was the first time any of them had seen anyone land a hit on the former police officer; of course part of that was because he'd been trying to subdue Ryuu from a seated position without hurting the teen. The previous times he'd needed to subdue the boy he'd been standing or in a position where he could use his longer reach and weight as leverage against the teen. And there'd always been far more room to maneuver whereas in the small, crowded sitting room of the Natsume quarters there really wasn't space to move about in a hurry when dealing with the flailing teen.

"Well that could have gone better," Hatake muttered as he held a gasping Ryuu securely with one arm and reached up to stop his bleeding nose with the other. "You okay, kid?"

Ryuu nodded stiffly a moment later as Hatake finally let him up. His green eyes grew large in shock as he took in his uncle's bloody and bruised face. He brought his hands up to immediately apologize to the wizard only for said wizard to grab his hands in a vice grip as he smiled grimly.

"No apologies. You didn't do it on purpose and I could have been paying a little better attention to where your hands were aiming… and your knees… and you know your elbows are far sharper than I remember."

"Allow me to clean you up, Kakashi," Flitwick offered as he pulled out his wand and siphoned away the blood before healing Hatake's nose and lip; the bruise would need to heal a bit more naturally. "I must say that is quite the shiner."

"I don't doubt it," Hatake chuckled as he let go of Ryuu and reached up to gently prod his eye. He then glanced at Ryuu (who was still looking mortified that he'd attacked his uncle) and suggested, "Since you're awake now; why don't you get something to eat?"

It was at that point Ryuu finally noticed his friends sitting around the table eating breakfast. He blushed bright red for a moment over them having witnessed his nightmare before his face went stark white as the knowledge that they now knew his biggest secret slammed forcefully back into his brain. He probably would have bolted out of the room if not for Luna taking matters into her own hands as she grabbed the chocolate sundae she'd asked the elves to make for her and a spoon before she parked herself on Ryuu's lap.

"I just realized you haven't shared a sundae with me in over a year and I thought chocolate made a far better breakfast than bacon and eggs," Luna declared as she dug into the ice cream with the spoon before lifting the frozen bite up to Ryuu's mouth expectantly.

Ryuu blinked at Luna for a moment before a small smile pulled up the corners of his mouth as he sighed and (to the shock of his friends) accepted the bite without too much fuss. He knew that Luna was returning the favor he'd done for her the year before after the dementors had affected her so badly on the train ride. If it had been a bit strange having her feed him the year before it was doubly so this year as she was sitting on his lap much like Tenji often sat in his lap.

He could also feel the warmth her body was radiating which contrasted with the cold ice cream they were sharing and alongside the scent of chocolate, whip cream, and fudge coming from the sundae he could smell the faint scent of radishes from the earrings she wore, the soft mustiness of the kneazle sitting on her shoulder, and a hint of ginger and nutmeg. It was a heady combination and it was doing things to Ryuu that were both wonderful and frightening.

While Ryuu and Luna were wrapped up in their own world, everyone else watched them with varying shades of surprise, curiosity, and amusement. Hermione, the only other girl present, sighed softly at the romantic tableau before she stabbed violently at her eggs; wishing she had a boy that would notice her the way Ryuu noticed Luna. She never saw the nervous and wishful glances Neville cast in her direction. Fred and George were both thinking Ryuu was one lucky devil; they'd give almost anything to have a cute bird perch on their laps and spoon feed them specially made treats of chocolaty goodness.

Satoshi was just smiling as he'd seen this coming from a mile away two years earlier when he'd first met Luna and she'd so effectively inserted herself into Ryuu's life. Hatake and Takashi had both shared a small chuckle as a single word passed through their minds as if sent by telepathy; whipped. Flitwick in the meantime pulled out a small black book where he kept track of all the current betting pools that the staff held every year and made a small notation next to Ryuu and Luna's names before adding a note to take bets on when Ryuu would ask the slim blonde to be his date to the Yule Ball and when they'd officially become a couple.

Ryuu's right arm somehow made its way around so it was partially wrapped around Luna's waist as she sat sideways on his lap while his left hand rested lightly on her knee. The longer she sat there the faster his heart raced and it felt as if there were millions of bees walking underneath his skin each time she would glance up at him with her blue eyes. It was in that moment that Ryuu finally realized how pretty Luna was; her long, pale blond hair tumbling freely down her back, her intelligent blue eyes sparkling with life, her full rose colored lips curving slightly up wards with a knowing smile, and her lithe form that was just beginning to bud with hints of the woman she would become (mostly hidden by the robes she wore). His breath caught in his throat as her pink tongue darted out to clean the chocolate sauce from the corner of her lips.

"What did Yamamoto-shishou have to say, Hatake-senpai?" Kimura asked as he and McGonagall rejoined the rest of the group, breaking the spell that had fallen over Ryuu.

"Mr. Natsume… Miss Lovegood, why are you sitting on Mr. Natsume's lap?" Professor McGonagall asked as she took in the now blushing Ryuu holding the third year on his lap while she spoon fed him ice cream.

"My Dragon needed cheering up and since he still won't ravish me I thought we could ravish the ice cream together," Luna innocently replied as she smiled up at the stern witch.

"I see… would it be a terrible inconvenience if I asked to borrow… your young man for a few minutes? I'd like to speak with him about his animagus exercises for a moment."

Luna pouted as she reluctantly turned and dropped her feet back onto the floor, never noticing Ryuu's eyes widen in shock as the movement brought her derrière into intimate contact with him before she stood up and returned to her seat on the floor with a pained sigh. For once Ryuu was thankful that the Hogwarts uniform consisted of loose robes that would hide his current embarrassment from everyone in the room even if he couldn't hide the fact that his face was a red as a tomato. Ducking his head, Ryuu climbed to his feet and followed McGonagall into the other room on shaky knees.

By the time McGonagall finished viewing Ryuu's mindscape transitions and explaining the next set of mental exercises he was to work on, Ryuu's embarrassment had faded. He returned to the living room to find most of the adults gone while his friends were still sitting around the table talking quietly about the tournament and comparing the various champions. Ryuu's mood sank a bit when he heard their topic of choice and his footsteps faltered for a moment before he came into their line of sight. He hesitated then, uncertain of how most of them felt about what had been revealed the night before.

"You know… we don't bite," George called out with a slight grin.

"At least not unless you want us to," Fred added with a matching grin.

Ryuu silently snorted and rolled his eyes even as an answering grin tugged his lips. Like Luna, the twins always seemed to know just what to say to make someone laugh. The slight smile didn't stay long though as he once again felt the weight of what it meant now that his secret had been revealed not just to his friends but to the world. Face now serious, Ryuu addressed his friends.

_Moushiwake arimasen deshita,_ Ryuu solemnly signed before he bowed low to the group. _While I might have one day built up the courage to tell you about my past I would have never wanted you to find out the way you did last night. It was not just that I didn't want anyone to know, it was more that I don't associate myself with who I was before I was adopted. _

_To me the name Harry Potter is the past; Harry Potter died when Natsume Ryuu was born and I preferred it that way because it allowed me to forget and to move on. Aside from my family, only a small handful of people have ever known and most of them were sworn to secrecy because my father didn't want me to be thrust into the spotlight unexpectedly. _

Ryuu paused for a moment as he glanced down at his hands, trying to find the words to explain his reasoning in a way that would not further alienate his friends. When he looked back up, his eyes reflected the uncertainty and frustration his soul felt as he finally continued, _I originally never wanted to come to Hogwarts. I feared that someone would figure out who I had been and that they would rip me away from my family. _

_I know Hermione and Neville were there when I first met Draco Malfoy; I'm certain they remember how he had said he wanted to make certain that I didn't make 'the wrong kind of friends' and how he threatened us. That was the reaction I feared and expected the most should I reveal my past and that spoiled snot-nosed brat was confirmation in my eyes that I was right to hide who I was. _

_For the longest time I wanted to go home. When Neville and Hermione started joining me for study sessions I tried to keep them at an arms length because I didn't want to make friends here. I didn't want to find anything to tie me to Hogwarts. As you both know I failed since over the course of the year I did start to think of you both as friends and I don't regret that. Before I knew it our group had grown even larger after the next year. And after everything that has happened, it is only your friendship that keeps me coming back year after year; which is exactly why I feared to make friends in the first place. _

"If you don't mind me asking, what was so terrible about being Harry Potter? I mean, logically I can see how changing your name when you were adopted would have made you seem more a part of their family," Hermione started nervously as they were all digesting Ryuu's longest speech to date. "But what could have been so terrible that you would come to hate or maybe fear your old name?"

Ryuu stared at Hermione pensively for a few minutes before letting his eyes take in the curiosity on everyone's faces except Neville's, because Neville knew part of what was so bad. He'd told the other fourteen year old about part of it during that first summer they'd bunked together at the academy after Neville had told him about his parents. Moving to sit back on the couch, Ryuu gathered Tenji into his arms for a measure of comfort as he considered how much, if any, of his past he was willing to divulge. Finally, after centering his emotions a bit, Ryuu decided that he would give them all an idea of how terrible and dark those early years were without going into too many details.

_I know that all of you are aware that I can see youkai; spirits and demons that possess a different kind of magic and that live separately, yet side by side with humans. They are attracted to me because I have that same power they have; it is what allows me to see them. In this country, in all of Great Britain, the youkai have been twisted into true demons by dark magic. _

_After Voldemort _(Ryuu ignored the slight flinches the dark lord's name drew from a couple of his friends) _murdered my parents I was left with my mother's sister and her husband. Like my parents, my aunt and uncle were non-magical. They did not know anything about the youkai and they could not understand what was wrong with me. I… have you ever been so terrified by a nightmare or some unknown sound in the middle of the night that you were afraid to leave your bed or enter a room no matter what?_

He waited for them to either nod or shake their heads, most of them nodding, before he continued, _I lived in that kind of fear every second of the five years I lived with my aunt and uncle. I did not leave the house once while I lived with them; not even to see a doctor or to play outside. In truth, I found the smallest place I could hide and I refused to ever leave it and after a while my aunt and uncle stopped trying to make me leave. _

_The sound of my screams and cries drew the youkai to me and upset my relatives and so to protect myself I stopped speaking. I also stopped trying to explain to my aunt and uncle about the frightening beings that promised me pain or worse as they constantly hunted me inside the very house. One day my magic made it so I couldn't make any sounds and I felt safer. They still could feel the spiritual power I radiate but they could no longer hear me and my aunt and uncle no longer complained about my nightmares. _

_I never saw a living person except for my aunt, uncle, and their son during those five years. Until the day my older cousin came and chased away the youkai. I willingly left behind all I knew and went with Takashi because he saved me from that terror. I was not alone anymore and my cousin adopted me and took me away from England. _

_I was so desperate for someone to protect me that I willingly went with a perfect stranger; who just happened to be my cousin. I would have gone with anyone if they had done the same. At the time, if Voldemort or one of his Death Eaters had shown up and chased away the youkai, I would have willingly gone with them; I would have done anything to escape the constant fear. _(More than a few of his friends eyes widened in shock over that particular confession because it told them just how much fear he'd been living in.)

_Otousan sent me to the dojo so I could learn to defend myself, he showed me that not all of the youkai were like the demons that had tormented me, and he taught me how to seal the true demons so that I could protect myself. It still took me years to lose that fear and yet it is always there. The only reason I'm not attacked by the demons here is because otousan chased away and sealed thousands of them during my first and second year here. Those youkai that have both spiritual energy and magic still bother me sometimes; the pixies, the thestrals, and the poltergeist are just a few examples. The ghosts in the castle bothered me at first but now they at least leave me alone for the most part. I am stronger now as Natsume Ryuu while Harry Potter was always weak and alone._

"That is so terrible… how could your aunt and uncle not try and help you?" Hermione demanded tearfully.

"People fear what they do not understand," Takashi explained, he and the other adults had come back during Ryuu's earlier speech and silently watched the unfolding scene. "Ryuu-kun's aunt and uncle were afraid of magic and they disliked anything that was 'not normal' and because they could not see what was frightening Ryuu they could not understand why he behaved the way he did. They instead chose to ignore him because it was the easiest way to pretend that their life was normal. It does not excuse their behavior and treatment of Ryuu but it does explain why they couldn't cope with Ryuu's gifts."

_My aunt wasn't afraid of magic… she resented magic and hated everything it represented because my birth mother was born with magic and she was not,_ Ryuu corrected sadly. _She resented me because like my mother I had the magic she was denied. I didn't make it any easier for her because I was not normal. Not even in magical terms was I normal. And no matter how much I might wish it, I will never be normal. I've always known that._

"Are you dredging up all that teenage angst again, Ryuu-kun?" Satoshi asked with stern exasperation.

_Iie, Satoshi-kun, I know it sounds like I was… but I was just stating a fact._

"Just so long as you're not working towards another drama queen moment I can live with that," Satoshi muttered as everyone else chuckled weakly at the attempted humor.

"If you children are finished with your discussion for the moment," Hatake began, studiously ignoring Satoshi's indignant protest at being lumped in with the rest of the children. "We have some information about what is going to be happening now that Ryuu-kun has been entered into the Tournament against his will."

"How can they make him compete?" Hermione protested. "He's too young according to the new rules and it's not as if he put his own name in the Goblet; otherwise it would have said Ryuu Natsume and not Harry Potter."

_It is either compete or lose my magic which would ultimately mean that my familiars and I would die._

"Don't forget what Dumbledore announced the night they finally brought out the Goblet of Fire to mark the opening of the tournament; 'Once a champion has been selected by the Goblet of Fire, he or she is obliged to see the tournament through to the end. The placing of your name in the goblet constitutes a binding, magical contract. There can be no change of heart once you have become a champion.'* The goblet is a magical artifact, it does not care that Mr. Natsume didn't enter his name personally," Professor Flitwick explained softly. "And while the tournament officials imposed an age limit on the tournament the goblet has no such restrictions because the original tournament had no such restrictions."

"That's terrible," Neville blurted out.

"True… but it is also a fact that can not be changed," Professor McGonagall stated simply.

"As I was saying, we have some news about the tournament," Hatake interjected before the teens could change the subject again. "Last night, after much discussion, it was decided that in order to keep things fair Ryuu would be representing Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu in the tournament instead of becoming a second champion for Hogwarts."

"Yamamoto-shishou will be arriving shortly before the first task, which will take place on the twenty-sixth this month, in order to support Ryuu-kun. He will also be bringing a number of students, mostly ones that Ryuu has shared classes with during the summer and those that have spent time here in Hogwarts since they would know Ryuu best. Those who are already here will have the choice to join them or stay with their sponsors though they will still attend classes as usual either way."

"Now, one of the rules of the tournament is that a champion is not allowed to seek assistance from the staff or officials involved nor are they allowed to seek private tutoring from their instructors. However, because you are three years younger than the rest of the champions and were railroaded into the tournament against your will, Yamamoto-shishou demanded that they allow you a single concession in order to put you on equal footing with the other champions," Hatake continued after a few minutes.

"He has received permission from both the tournament officials and the other headmasters to provide you with a personal trainer to help you prepare for the tournament. The letter he sent to me this morning was a request for me to accept that position; which I already have. I am not allowed to give you information regarding the individual tasks, nor can I help you by telling you how to beat the task once you know what it is. All I can do is help you physically train or teach you the spells you think you need in order to complete the tasks."

"You have also been granted permission to use the restricted section for research; the same as the other champions," Professor Flitwick added. "I trust that you will not abuse that privilege and that you will be careful on which spells you chose to learn from the books you will find. I would not wish for you to harm yourself through ignorance or desperation. I also have here a complete copy of the tournament rules and regulations; I suggest you spend some time familiarizing yourself with them so you will know what is expected of you as a champion."

Ryuu nodded in understanding and thanked both wizards for their help and information as he accepted the thick tome from his Head of House.

"I don't know how much attention you were paying to last night's discussion, Mr. Natsume, but the champions are exempt from taking the end of year exams," Professor McGonagall interjected at that point. "However, that doesn't mean that you will be allowed to skip classes; not that I believe you would willingly do so. It just means that you will automatically pass onto the next level at the end of the year without having to worry about studying for the exams on top of preparing for the tasks. Any class assignments or projects that are due will still need to be completed, though if you need more time to complete them due to your responsibilities as a champion then you will need to make arrangements with your professors well ahead of time."

_I understand, McGonagall-sensei._

"There is one last thing Takashi-san would like to discuss with all of you before we take you back a couple of turns so you can get to class on time; seeing as how you've all missed your first period already," Kimura announced. "Normally we wouldn't consider cheating just to allow you to make up a class you missed but we realize that there were extenuating circumstances this morning. Just do not make a habit out of it because we will not allow you to make up time just because you felt like skipping."

There were several murmurs of understanding and acceptance along with several sheepish expressions since most of them hadn't realized that they might miss a class or two when they had unanimously decided to cheer up their friend.

"As you can imagine, last night's revelation is going generate a considerable amount of unwanted attention from the media," Takashi solemnly informed them. "They will most likely hound our family for information and interviews and if they can't get what they want from us they will seek out you and your families because you are Ryuu's friends. I realize I can't stop you from talking to the reporters but I would like to request that you not give them any personal information about Ryuu-kun or his familiars. It isn't just about allowing Ryuu a bit of privacy; my son has enemies out there and any information that reaches the public will reach those same enemies and put him at an even greater risk."

"Daddy would be willing to publish a statement for you in the Quibbler," Luna dreamily offered. "He likes my Dragon and he wouldn't put anything in the article that would hurt my Dragon or our friends."

"Arigatou, Luna-chan," Takashi warmly replied. "I will let Bongledash-sama know to seek your father out once we have prepared our statement."

_Tousan?_ Ryuu asked tentatively as he turned to look up at his father uncertainly.

"We have to tell them something, son," Takashi explained. "It is better that we give them the information that we would like them to print than to have them go digging for information or worse making up false statements and creating unwanted speculation. Most of what we will be telling them is bare facts; your father was my uncle, I adopted you just before your seventh birthday, we've been living peacefully outside of England, and we'd like the public to respect our privacy. Just enough to satisfy the public and keep them from hounding us constantly."

"The other students aren't going to be satisfied with that," Fred muttered darkly.

"Our housemates were less than pleased to find that 'Harry Potter' has been hiding and that he wasn't sorted into the House of the Brave," George added seriously.

"Our little brother was one of the loudest, I'm sorry to say," Fred continued.

"And he takes the minor feud the two of you have had going on since first year personal and will likely use you hiding who you were as a reason to attack you," George finished.

"He was being an insufferable git last night in the dorm," Neville added with a grimace. "He seemed to blame you for everything bad that has happened to him since he started school. Stating that if you'd been a proper hero you'd have been his friend and he wouldn't always be picked on by the teachers. I told him to shut up."

"The girls are just as bad… though they aren't certain if they should be angry or if they should try and suck up to you because they want to be your girlfriend now," Hermione practically growled. "They either hate you or want you to make them famous by association. It makes me sick."

"The Ravenclaws are of a similar mind; though they are more interested in getting answers from you," Luna revealed. "They will be the ones that demand to know why and will hound you until they give up or you snap at them again."

_Joy,_ Ryuu offered with a grimace as he slouched down on the couch.

"I'd worry most about the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins though," Fred pointed out.

"Yeah, the 'Puffs will take offense because they'll see you as trying to take the spotlight off of one of their own," George explained.

"And there are a lot of children in Slytherin that are related to Death Eaters that may or may not blame you for their families' fall from grace in nineteen-eighty," both twins finished together.

"Slytherin house isn't the only house that has the children of Death Eaters in it," Luna corrected. "They are in all of the houses and not all of them believe as their parents do or did."

"Well said, Miss Lovegood," Flitwick praised as he smiled at the third year.

"Just out of curiosity, why did the Sorting Hat put you in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor?" Hermione asked as she looked at Ryuu expectantly. "Or even in Slytherin? I mean, you are obviously brave and cunning. Not to say you aren't intelligent because we all know you are… just why Ravenclaw over the others?"

_The hat told me I would fit into any of the four houses but that the Slytherins would likely kill me because of my disability or if they found out who I was, that the Gryffindors would hate me and see me as weak because I chose to hide my past, and that the Hufflepuffs would grow to hate me because I wasn't trusting or open enough. The hat also warned me that I would be shunned by the Ravenclaws because I would not give them what they wanted most; information._

"The hat told you that?" Professor McGonagall inquired in shock. "The hat actually told you that you would be hated or killed by the other students?"

_Yes… I don't know if it meant literally or figuratively though… only that the Gryffindors, Slytherins, and Hufflepuffs would be less understanding and less willing to forgive me for my choices. It also said that Slytherin house was not what it once was._

There wasn't much else to be said after that and Kimura collected those that would need to go back so that they could attend their classes and took them back to seven o'clock so they would have enough time to get ready for class and grab something to eat if they were still hungry. Hatake in the mean time escorted Ryuu and Satoshi to the dojo and took them back a total of six hours in order to allow Ryuu to get some more rest before facing the rest of the school. He and Satoshi stayed with him to watch over him while he slept and to prevent anyone from disturbing him.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Hai – yes  
>Iie – no<br>Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal apology, usually used when one has seriously messed up and is apologizing to a stranger or a superior. I believe the literal translation is 'I have no excuse' and the deshita turns the phrase into the past tense. At least that is how I understood it. Again, I apologize to any native speakers for butchering your language; I'm blonde and I'm dyslexic which is really a terrible combination when it comes to learning new languages. I do try though. =)  
>Otousantousan – father

**Notes:**

* Quote from HP & the Goblet of Fire; Chapter 16, Pages 256-7, US Edition (paperback)

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Bit of a filler chapter here… but it was necessary to show how Ryuu's friends and family were handling Ryuu's unveiling. I didn't go into too much detail about the discussion that took place after the champion selection because there are only so many ways you can say 'he has to compete' and I didn't want to throw around too much drama and angst as the adults argued back and forth. So, therefore I simply summarized the important points._

_The next chapter will show how the rest of the school reacts to Ryuu's true identity, representatives of the Japanese Academy will arrive, and wands will be weighed. Not sure when the next chapter will be posted as I'm cleaning up several of the older chapters, including fixing a small mistake I made regarding the prospective champions from the two visiting schools (I had not intended for it to appear that Beauxbatons only brought girls and Durmstrang only brought boys even if that was the way it was written), so I can get those chapters updated before I post the next chapter. _

_Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter! ~ Jenn_


	32. Trials and Tribulations

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 31: The Trials and Tribulations of a Tournament Champion <span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>All month, November 1994<em>

The first two weeks after his name came out of the goblet were pure misery for Ryuu as people constantly belittled him for hiding who he was, accused him of seeking attention, hounded him with their intrusive questions, sought his friendship because they now knew who he was, or worse sought a physical relationship with him for the fame it would grant them. Things got a little better after the series of articles and statements that his father and Sander Bongledash released to the press but in some ways those same articles only made things worse. The most irritating thing was the fact that people kept calling him Potter. He finally got fed up with people not calling him by his legal name (and in his mind, his proper name) and lashed out.

The unfortunate victim of Ryuu's wrath was one of his least favorite teachers; Severus Snape. The potions master had not been able to get over the fact that Ryuu was the son of James and Lily Potter and had three years worth of insults he tried heaping upon Ryuu over that fact. Never mind that the insults were entirely directed at a dead man and in no way truly applied to Ryuu as the man should have known after the past three years. The fact that he was willing to voice those insults during class periods in front of the other students only made it worse. So, on the fourteenth, after doing his best to ignore the man between classes for the past two weeks and in that first class after Halloween, Ryuu decided he had had enough.

He ignored the first three snide comments but the moment the man started on the fourth, calling his father several less than pleasant names complete with descriptive adjectives, Ryuu stood up and began to pack up his things. When Snape told him to sit down and get to work, while once again insulting Ryuu's father (Snape referring to James Potter while Ryuu saw his father as Takashi), Ryuu glared up at the unpleasant man and deliberately flipped him the bird. That of course pissed the potions professor off and the man made the mistake of reaching out to grab hold of Ryuu and Shogun and Tenji were quick to leap to Ryuu's defense. Worse yet, was when Snape foolishly drew his wand and shot a pair of stunners at the two animals.

Ryuu attacked without any hesitation; his hanbo lashing out with painful accuracy as he broke Snape's wrist to make him drop his wand. He then proceeded to show Snape exactly why he should learn not to provoke a sleeping dragon as he methodically beat the tar out of the wizard while just barely keeping his blows from becoming lethal. It had taken all of ten minutes for Ryuu to teach Snape a lesson he'd not soon forget and when it was over, Ryuu had calmly sheathed his hanbo, called off his familiars, and walked out of the classroom without looking back; leaving the battered Snape on the floor and nineteen frightened fourth years sitting frozen in their seats.

From that point forward, Ryuu ignored anyone using the name Potter or Harry in his presence and glared openly at the fan boys and girls that sought his friendship and affection. Once rumors about Ryuu's attack on Snape circulated amongst the other students (including those that were visiting) people began avoiding him like the plague; the exception being his friends and those fans that just didn't know any better. That would also be the last potions class Ryuu would attend at Hogwarts for the rest of his magical education; he adamantly refused to put up with Snape's vitriol and swore the next time the man insulted his father or attacked his familiars he would not hold back.

Those that were hoping Ryuu would be punished for attacking Snape were sorely disappointed when he wasn't, due to proving that it had been Snape who had instigated the entire thing; first by verbally attacking Ryuu and his family (including James Potter) and then by physically attempting to restrain Ryuu when he chose to walk away. The spells fired at the two familiars only damned Snape's actions in the eyes of those who otherwise might have punished Ryuu for violence; the man had known long enough how protective Ryuu was of his familiars to have known better.

The rest of Ryuu's anger was beaten down by the brutal training sessions Hatake put him through after that; allowing Ryuu to take his frustrations out on the training dummies in order to prevent him from exploding at any student who didn't learn from Snape's mistake. In addition to the physical training sessions, Hatake had him practicing every last spell he knew until he could cast them in his sleep from both wands. The only homework Hatake gave him was to write out a list of spells he thought he might need for the tournament and to read the rule book that Flitwick had provided for him.

Four days after the incident with Snape, Headmaster Yamamoto arrived at Hogwarts along with twenty students and a couple of teachers. Like the Beauxbatons contingent, the group from Japan arrived in an elaborate carriage; unlike the French, the academy's carriage had been flown by a dozen griffins (much to Hagrid's glee). The carriage itself had been painted black with the school's emblem of a Chinese Fireball curled up in a circle with a wand clutched in one claw and a sword in the other and its wings half open and curving parallel to its back painted on both sides. As before, all of Hogwarts had turned out for the arrival of their final guests, though this time Ryuu was standing beside Hatake out in front of everyone else as he would be greeting Headmaster Yamamoto first and then joining the other students from the academy.

Shortly after the Japanese contingent was welcomed to the school, all four champions were called into the antechamber off of the Great Hall for the Weighing of the Wands. They would also be facing the press for the first time as champions for their schools. The reporter from the Daily Prophet, one Rita Skeeter, attempted to abscond with Ryuu the moment he walked through the door but Shogun's angry hiss warned the woman off. Headmaster Yamamoto then further discouraged the woman by drawing Ryuu off to one side of the room to ask him how he was doing. Skeeter attempted to eavesdrop but she didn't know Japanese and couldn't read hand signs so she was left in the dark (she'd have used a translation spell but the knowing look Yamamoto sent her warned her off that avenue of eavesdropping).

When Headmaster Dumbledore arrived, he was escorting Ordric Ollivander; the Wandmaker from which Ryuu had purchased his second wand. Their arrival signaled the start of the short ceremony and the four champions lined up in the order in which they'd been announced while the school heads took up a position just behind and to the left their respective student in order to observe the testing of their wands. Ryuu nervously fingered the handles of his two wands as he wondered if he should have one or both of them tested or if just one, which one he should present.

"Shall we start with your wand, Mr. Krum?" Ollivander inquired as he held his hand out for the wand. "Ah, one of Gregorovitch's I see… hornbeam, ten and one quarter inches, quite rigid, with a dragon heartstring core…" The Wandmaker gave the wand a flick and produced a shower of red and orange arrows that burst into sparks before they faded. "Good, good, that one seems to be in excellent condition."

"Miss Delacour, if I may?" Ollivander asked once he'd returned Krum's wand and moved to accept the wand from the young French witch. "Let us see… rosewood, nine a half inches, rather inflexible, with a… is that a veela hair core?"

"Oui, it is from my grandmother."

Ollivander nodded as he gave the wand a wave and released hundreds of purple, green, and pink bubbles that hovered in the air before several minutes before popping into a shower of multicolored glitter that disappeared before it touched the floor. The Wandmaker then turned to Cedric and accepted the wand the Hufflepuff held out without needing to be asked.

"Ah… Mr. Diggory… I well remember when you came into my shop six years ago for this wand… a pleasantly springy spruce, twelve and a quarter inches, with a core containing a single hair from the tail of a particularly fine male unicorn."

This time Ollivander drew forth a small shooting star that rose up towards the ceiling before exploding into a shower of yellow dust that vanished as it drifted back towards the floor. The old man then turned towards Ryuu and started a bit, as if not expecting him to be there. The other three champions gave Ryuu curious looks when the man sighed and slowly approached him. Ryuu twitched a bit but stood his ground, no longer frightened of the old man like he had been during their first meeting; not that he trusted the old wizard.

"Mr. P… Mr. Natsume… I trust you are doing well? Are you still satisfied with a wand that 'is just a close enough match'?" Ollivander inquired as he stopped about a foot and a half away from Ryuu.

Ryuu nodded slowly and shrugged before he half turned and addressed Headmaster Yamamoto, _Yamamoto-shishou, am I required to present both wands to Ollivander-san? The rules did not prohibit a second wand and I do not wish to leave one or the other behind but also do not wish to create difficulties. _

"Both," Yamamoto replied after a moment; confusing everyone in the room that was not aware that Ryuu had two wands. "Best to be certain and that way you will not limit yourself later."

_Hai, shishou…_ Ryuu replied as he turned around and brought out both of his wands; which drew gasps of surprise from the other champions, Headmaster Karkaroff, and Headmistress Maxime. Skeeter's face lit up in excitement; her mind already running through various stories about the Boy-Who-Lived owning two wands.

"Interesting… oldest wand first," Ollivander stated as he reached for the holly wand only to have Ryuu hand him the cherry wand. "Indeed? I see… no wonder you were willing to settle on one that worked well enough when you appeared in my store over three years ago. My, my… I have not seen any of Ohayashi's work in years… cherry if I'm not mistaken, fifteen inches and rather inflexible, and dare I say both a dragon heartstring and an ice phoenix's feather? Such a wonderful contradiction…"

Ollivander waved the wand and produced a dozen frozen cherry blossoms that drifted lazily to the floor where they shattered upon impact before vanishing. The man then passed the wand back to Ryuu before accepting the holly wand from the teen.

"And this here was one of my wands… eleven inches and made of holly, it is supple yet resilient with a tail feather of a fire phoenix; most curious that it shared nothing in common with your original wand though some would disagree since they both have phoenix feathers. Both in excellent condition; it is good to see young witches and wizards properly caring for their wands."

The Wandmaker then twirled Ryuu's holly wand and brought forth a shower of red and gold sparks that danced in the air for a moment before fading away. The wizard then passed the wand back to Ryuu and the teen slipped both of them back into the hidden holsters in his sleeves.

The ceremony over, Ollivander took his leave after once again pronouncing that all five wands were in fine working order. Skeeter then descended upon the champions like a shark in a feeding frenzy as she asked several pointed and leading questions of each champion. The moment she tried asking Ryuu personal questions, Yamamoto stepped in and told her to stay on topic or the interview would be over. Skeeter's plastic smile slipped a bit before she forced it back into place and asked him how it felt being the youngest champion in the history of the tournament. Unfortunately, she called him Harry Potter in the same breath and Ryuu narrowed his eyes as he wrote out his reply.

_First of all, my name is Ryuu Natsume. That is my legal name and it is the only name I will respond to; this is your only warning. Secondly, I am not the youngest champion to ever be selected by the Goblet of Fire; in sixteen eighty-three a young witch by the name of Natalia Heartwood was chosen as the Hogwarts champion at the tender age of eleven and a half. She died in the first task when she was trampled by a raging manticore. And finally, I would have preferred to have left the tournament to those who chose to enter instead of being forced into this tournament._

"Oh, come now Mr. Potter, surely you don't… Mr. Potter? Mr. Potter!"

Ryuu turned his back on the woman and bowed to his Headmaster before asking permission to return to his classes. Yamamoto nodded solemnly, a hint of a smile playing about his lips, granting the fourteen year old permission to leave. Ryuu then ignored Skeeter, who was still calling him Potter and trying to get his attention, as he walked right passed her to where Hatake was waiting for him near the door. The two left together and Ryuu's tight control on emotions slipped fractionally as he scowled and curled his hands into fists.

"Try not to let her get under your skin," Hatake murmured softly as they headed towards the dojo. "I'm proud of the way you handled her unpleasantness and for walking away instead of getting angry in front of her or the other champions. You've really grown in the last six months." Ryuu flashed him a tight smile and relaxed marginally as they reached the dojo and entered to find Satoshi finishing up with a group of second years that had opted to take basic defense this year. "Yamamoto-shishou informed me that he will be coming to view your progress later this afternoon so for now I want you to stretch and run through your katas; we'll save your sparring for when he is here."

_Hai, sensei,_ Ryuu replied as he placed his things in one of the lockers provided and settled his familiars on the chair so they wouldn't get in the way. He then removed his two staves, took off his robes to reveal his gi underneath, replaced his staves across his back, and moved off to one side of the mats to begin warming up.

The familiarity of running through his katas after he'd warmed up and stretched helped Ryuu let the rest of his irritation fade away. As his body moved smoothly from one stance to the next, Ryuu's mind slipped into a trance that allowed him to enter his mindscape so he could work on his animagus transformation while at the same time still retaining partial awareness of the world around him. This was one of two exercises that McGonagall had just given him earlier that month and it was the hardest of the animagus exercises to date as he had to split his focus in two different directions least he lose track of what his body is doing while he is immersed in his mindscape. It wasn't as difficult as it would have been if Ryuu hadn't forced himself to learn how to split his focus between multiple tasks when he was younger in order to not think about the youkai and his nightmares.

Ryuu was on his third repetition of his katas when he felt someone drop a hand on his shoulder and he reflexively reached up and grabbed the offending hand and threw the person over his shoulder and pinned him to the floor while he dropped out of his mindscape. Glancing down he grinned sheepishly at Satoshi who was glaring up at him from over his shoulder. Ryuu scrambled up off the teen's back and let go of his arm as he stood to one side rubbing the back of his head while trying not to laugh.

"I wish you'd stop doing that every time I'm sent to get your attention," Satoshi complained.

_Gomen, Satoshi-kun, I was practicing my other exercises at the same time and was only half aware of what I was doing. But you know… if you just called my name instead of grabbing my shoulder I'd be less likely to throw you over my shoulder._

"You don't always hear me when I call your name," Satoshi muttered as he rubbed his shoulder and shook out the soreness from having Ryuu pin his arm behind his back. "Besides, how else am I supposed to test your reflexes if I never sneak up on you?"

_Then you have nothing to complain about… but you might want to work on your reflexes if you are constantly getting caught off guard by someone who's barely a little more than half your size._

"Ne, ne! no need to rub it in, gaki."

Ryuu just flashed him a grin and stuck out his tongue before he back flipped away from the older boy to avoid the lunge the teen made to grab him.

"Enough playing around you two," Hatake ordered in amusement as he pulled out the training dummies and set up five of them. "Maruyama-kun, I want you to spot Natsume from the west wall. Natsume-kun, I want you to start with hand to hand in a one on one spar. We'll add an additional opponent every eight minutes until you have faced all five opponents for eight minutes or you are overwhelmed. Difficulty level is set to one and will rise half a level for every five successive strikes until it reaches level six."

Both teens nodded and Ryuu fell into his starting stance while Satoshi moved to the requested side of the room and stood with his hands behind his back and his feet shoulder width apart. As he waited for Hatake to give the signal to start, Ryuu slipped back into his half trance but instead of entering his mindscape this time he used the trance to enhance his awareness of the room; tapping into his magical core in order to watch his own back for the point when he'd be facing multiple foes. If anyone would have been standing to his left, they would have seen the scar on his temple start glowing with a thin thread of silver light.

"Hajime!"

Ryuu watched the training dummy lunge at him and he blocked the dummy with a kick to the chest before punching it in the face. He blocked two counter punches before dropping down to sweep its legs out from under it only to miss when it jumped over his kick. Ryuu rolled backwards and jumped back up onto his feet in time to block a kick aimed at his head. Grabbing hold of the dummy's foot, he pushed it backwards; making the dummy lose its balance and followed it down with an elbow to what would be the sternum on a person. Back and forth he danced; blocking, punching, kicking, and jumping as he traded blow after blow with the animated manikin.

The dummy had just shifted into level four when he felt his magic tug on his senses to let him know the second dummy had just been activated. Dropping into a half crouch, Ryuu spun and grabbed the hand that had been aimed at the back of his head and pulled the dummy off its feet before launching it over his shoulder at the first dummy. Both of the devices went down buying Ryuu enough time for him to settle back into his starting stance and catch his breath. Ryuu had worked up a sweat by the time the third dummy had entered the fray and the original dummy had been bumped up to level six while the second one was at level three.

Keeping his breathing as even as possible (so he didn't lose strength due to a lack of oxygen), Ryuu increased his range of awareness by pulling more magic from his core. Once again, he used the newest dummy to take out one of the earlier dummies in order to buy himself breathing room to battle the remaining dummy. A shift in his magic behind him had Ryuu throwing himself forward into roll that took him out of range of all three dummies before he popped back up his feet and kicked the nearest dummy in the stomach and followed it up with a chop to the back of the neck before he spun out of the pincher move the two remaining dummies tried to catch him in.

When the fourth opponent entered the spar, Ryuu allowed two of the earlier dummies to grab his arms. Letting them support his weight, he kicked the third dummy in the head with both feet before dropping back to the floor and throwing himself backwards while gripping the hands that held him. This caused the two dummies holding him to crash into each other and tumble to the floor while Ryuu spun and grabbed the fourth and threw him into the one he'd kicked in the face earlier; panting slightly as he took the few seconds of respite to wipe the sweat from his eyes. Stepping forward, he launched his next attack before all four foes could regain their feet; bringing the difficulty level of the third dummy up to level six (the first two having both already reached the highest setting).

By the time the fifth dummy entered the tussle, Ryuu's scar was glowing brightly due to the amount of magic he had wrapped around him and his gi was soaked with sweat and sticking uncomfortably to his back and chest as he dodged, blocked, and attacked all five of his opponents. If not for the magic he used to keep track of the dummies he would have been knocked out long before numbers four and five joined in. As it was the long drawn out spar had sapped much of his energy and cut his response times in half. He was knocked out three minutes after the fifth dummy was activated when he failed to duck fast enough to avoid the wooden fist to the back of his head.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Satoshi greeted with a grin when Ryuu finally woke up several minutes later.

Ryuu made a face and reached up to tenderly test the knot he could feel on the back of his head. The rest of his body ached a fair bit too, from where the dummies had landed punches and kicks or where he'd fallen less than perfectly when dodging their attacks. Shaking off the lingering headache, Ryuu climbed to his feet and looked to Hatake who told him to stretch and cool down before hitting the shower (the bathroom a new addition to the dojo after Ryuu's kidnapping the year before).

When he came back out, he was given two packages by Yamamoto. The first one contained four black gakuran (two in silk and two in cotton) with the school's emblem sewn onto the back in red, gold, and silver thread. Arching over top of the emblem in red thread was his last name. The headmaster then told him he was to wear the cotton uniforms to class and meals while the two silk ones were to be worn during each of the four tasks. The second package held a black silk kimono with the same emblem on the back, a divided hakama in red silk with a pair of dragons embroidered along the outside of each leg in silver and gold thread, and a black pair of silk slippers with leather soles. This outfit was meant to be worn to the Yule Ball, where he was required to open the ball along with the other champions.

The first time Ryuu wore his new uniform to class, he drew quite a bit of attention, the dragon on his back standing out vividly against the black background of the uniform; even with the image bisected by his two staves. The biggest difference though was the fact that his uniform hugged his body comfortably, showing off his wiry body that his robes usually hid outside of his training sessions. Without the robes blocking his body it was easy to see the predatory grace that he exhibited when he moved; each movement smooth, economical, and hinting at a dangerousness lurking just beneath the surface. Those that didn't know better would liken him to a tiger or a panther… in reality he was a slumbering dragon with a hidden temper to match.

On Saturday night (the day after the Weighing of the Wands), around midnight, Satoshi slipped into Ryuu's dorm and woke him up. Using sign language, the older teen told Ryuu to dress in all black, grab his flute, and meet him down in the common room in five minutes. Wondering what was going on, Ryuu complied (albeit a little reluctantly) and soon met his friend by the entrance to the common room. Satoshi then instructed Ryuu to weave a cloak of invisibility around the two of them as they traveled through the castle. Ryuu frowned but brought the replacement ocarina he'd gotten after his original one was destroyed out of his pocket and gently hid them by weaving the spell around and through them as they moved through the castle silently.

When they exited the castle, Ryuu nearly stopped playing; only for Satoshi to tell him to keep going as he led him towards the forest. Ryuu was feeling unsettled as they slipped beneath the first trees; he'd never been inside the Forbidden Forest before. He didn't have time to worry about being out of bounds though as Satoshi whispered in his ear to not stop playing no matter what he saw. Ryuu nodded and followed the nineteen year old deeper into the shadows, his eyes picking out the bright glow of firelight in the distance. When the two of them reached the clearing Ryuu's song faltered for several bars before he brought it back under control; the magic hiding them shimmering momentarily before it steadied as he stared wide-eyed at the four living, breathing dragons that were being held in cages in the middle of the clearing.

They were beautiful, deadly, and far larger than Ryuu had originally thought they would be when he read about them in the book that Neville and Hermione had given him that first Christmas. Based upon the number of dragons being held in the clearing, Ryuu knew that there'd be one for each of the champions to face. He also didn't miss the fact that Hagrid, Madam Maxime, and Igor Karkaroff were all lurking around the clearing spying on the dragons. The only thing he didn't know was if Hagrid was there in order to give Cedric a heads up or if the large man was on some kind of twisted date with Madam Maxime. Based upon the attempt the man made to clean himself up and the strange suit he was wearing, Ryuu guessed it to be the latter.

"We can go back now, Ryuu-kun," Satoshi murmured in his ear.

Ryuu nodded and backed away from the mesmerizing view of the Chinese Fireball as it let out a cloud of flames in irritation. Tearing his eyes away, Ryuu followed Satoshi back out of the forest and back to the castle. Ten minutes later, they were back in Ravenclaw Tower and Ryuu dropped his flute and stared at Satoshi with wide eyes for a full minute before he thanked his friend and headed back to bed. His dreams that night were filled with terrible nightmares where the champions were eaten or burned alive one by one by raging dragons. One thing was certain; his familiars would not be helping him in the first task or any of the subsequent tasks if he could help it.

Sunday morning, Ryuu was in the dojo by three thirty with his copy of the Bestiary cradled in his lap as he looked up the four dragons he'd seen in the clearing the night before. He'd only slept for a couple of hours before his nightmares had chased him from bed and he'd left Satoshi a note telling him where he'd gone before he'd snuck down here with his book to wait for Hatake. On the floor beside him he had the notes on the breeds he'd identified so far; the Chinese Fireball he'd recognized from the academy's crest, the Antipodean Opaleye had been the one with the shimmering pearl colored scales and pupil-less eyes, and the third one he'd identified was a Hebridean Black (a dark dragon with rough scales, back ridge, a spiked tail, and purple eyes).

The final dragon had been far larger than the other three, a dark metallic gray in color with long silver colored talons and deep red eyes. Ryuu finally found a match for the dragon when he reached the final entry in The Bestiary; the Ukrainian Ironbelly – the largest dragon in existence. It was also one of the hardest dragons to subdue magically because its skin and scales were far thicker than the smaller breeds of dragons.

Dropping down onto his belly, Ryuu pulled his notebook closer and began writing down all of the information that was available on the final dragon. Once that was done, he read through the list of information he'd compiled and began plotting out strategies for each of the dragons since he had no idea which one he would end up facing. With the Opaleye, he'd have to find a way to negate the dragon's natural ability to blend into its surroundings. The Fireball's biggest weapon was its flames and whip-like tail and the Hebridean's tail was even more dangerous since it had spikes on the end. If he faced the Ironbelly, he'd have to worry about the dragon's claws and feet or he'd end up either shredded in pieces or flattened like a pancake.

His ability to use wanded magic to fight or subdue the dragon he faced would be useless; he didn't have that much power (at least not in his mind) and it would be impossible to learn a new high-powered spell in the week he had to prepare for the task. So that meant he had to use what he had available. He supposed he could distract the dragon but that would mean offering it a meal… could he willingly summon the creature live food? After a moment's consideration he decided if nothing else worked he would call a meal for the dragon and looked up the preferred meal for each of the species being used in the task. He then wondered if the dragons could be called or controlled with the summoning magic and if it would be worth the effort to try.

He was good at summoning; he'd proven that when he called around two hundred phoenixes into the school on his first day back during his most recent summer session. If he could layer enough magic into the music, could he sooth a raging dragon and either put it to sleep or at least slow it down enough to complete the task? He had an affinity for reptiles and in a way dragons were reptiles and could in a twisted way be considered to be related to birds since they flew; but would that be enough? What flute would be the best one to use if he dared try? His western flute would give him far more flexibility but he summoned best with the simpler ocarina; however, he was still getting used to his new ocarina and didn't like relying on it if he didn't have to. Maybe it was better to use illusions to distract the dragon instead? He could use the western flute then since he could try to put the dragon to sleep and mask his presence at the same time.

That just meant he was sacrificing safety and if any one of the dragons caught him in the middle of his ploy he'd be dead. So… he'd need a fireproofing spell or he'd need to ward his clothes with runes before he stepped out onto the field. He reached out and snagged his tournament rulebook and began searching through it to see if adding wards and runes to his clothes were allowed. If he didn't have to worry about his clothes catching fire than he wouldn't need to be as concerned with protection other than to not get too close. He'd also need to scribe fire protection wards onto whichever flute he ended up using and his wands; to prevent them from being destroyed during the task.

Hatake stepped into the dojo at five minutes to six and paused on the threshold when he found Ryuu already inside and with a pile of books and parchment spread out all around him. When he closed the door with a snap, Ryuu glanced up at him with intense green eyes before he sat up and shuffled through the papers on the floor until he found the one he was looking for and held it out to the older wizard. His uncle slowly crossed the floor to take the paper and frowned down at the mess for a moment before lifting the parchment so he could read what was written there.

_Oji_

_The first task involves dragons. I've got a list of the breeds they brought in and their  
>strengths, weakness, and dietary preferences. I've got tentative strategies for each<br>one since there's no way to predetermine which one I will face. There's no point in  
>trying to learn a new spell in the week I have to prepare; I need you to help me test<br>my fireproofing wards/runes. I'll prepare some tentative combinations today in my  
>free time; if you could find us a place to test them safely and find someone who could<br>cast extreme heat spells? Unless you know where to find an active volcano we could  
>drop them in to test them instead?<em>

"Dragons?" Hatake hoarsely asked; the worry on his face easy to read. "Which species did they bring? And do you know if they are male or female?"

Ryuu handed him his notes on the dragons after adding that he hadn't been able to tell what gender the dragons were. Hatake's face paled even more as he read through the list and notes that Ryuu had jotted down while doing his research. He'd been very thorough, even making note that the Chinese Fireball had a tendency to prefer humans as a source of food when there were a shortage of swine available.

"And your basic strategy?"

Ryuu lifted a final piece of paper but hesitated a moment before he passed it to the wizard; he eyes betraying his uncertainty and fear that it wouldn't be good enough. While Hatake read through the sheet of notes, Ryuu sat up and began cleaning up his messes knowing his uncle would want him to start training soon. By the time Hatake finished reading through the sheet of plans and notes; Ryuu had cleaned up his things and started stretching to warm up his muscles.

"How confident are you that you can pull this off? And what do the rules say about warding your clothes or wearing warded jewelry?" Hatake demanded tightly as he intently studied Ryuu's face.

_The only other thing I do half as well as summoning and illusions is flying and how much of a chance would I have on a broom I've not once ridden yet against a dragon that was born to fly? _Ryuu pointed out as he paused to answer his uncle. _I'm good at runes too but my warding is only so/so because I've only had one session of lessons; which is why I would like you to help me test them before I apply them to my uniforms, wands, and flutes. And I checked in the rulebook three times this morning and there are no rules saying you can't wear protective clothing. Jewelry is listed as acceptable providing it is benign in nature and protective wards that do not attack would fall under that category._

"How soon do you think you could have a couple of ward schemes ready to test?"

_By lunch… I planned on working on them during my study periods this morning._

"Start them now… if you can have them done before our time is up I will get them to Yamamoto-shishou and have him take them back to the Academy to have them tested with Fiendfyre in the warded chamber on campus. If you can, do them on stone, paper, and cloth so we can test how well they protect each."

Ryuu nodded and dug his things back out, sending Shogun with a note for Satoshi asking his friend to grab about twelve of his stone tiles and one of his old Hogwarts robes from his trunk. He then settled back down on the floor and continued forming various warding combinations that would protect against both flames and intense heat. After a moment, he added in one to drop the temperature and linked it to a regulation rune so that it would turn on and off at certain temperatures. He also added in strengthening runes, stability runes, conversion runes, and charging runes to enhance the durability of the material and draw power to run the ward scheme from the heat that would be generated. As with his portable wards against rats, he wove the schemes from multiple alphabets and tied them all together so they complimented each other and built upon their strengths.

By the time Satoshi arrived with his requested materials, Ryuu had six possible ward schemes that could be effective against dragon fire; with one of them containing a self-cleaning ward and another with a self-repairing ward for the hell of it. He also had multiple copies of each one done on paper for testing purposes; with a couple of them done in blood to see if it would increase the strength of the wards. Accepting the tiles and robes from Satoshi, Ryuu thanked him and dug out his carving kit to start on the tiles since they'd take the longest.

Hatake let Ryuu work for an extra hour in order to get the work done; the older wizard desperately wanting the teen's chances of surviving the first task to be moved into his favor enough to risk pushing the boy to his limits this one time. When he did finish, he had the stack of twelve stone tiles, a dozen square bits of cloth cut from his old robes, and the three dozen sheets of parchment all scribed with the different ward schemes. Hatake then boxed all of the samples into a conjured cardboard box, turned back four hours and told Satoshi to make certain Ryuu got a couple of hours sleep before he went down to breakfast. The gray-haired wizard than dashed off to find Yamamoto in order to have the samples tested as quickly as possible.

At breakfast, Ryuu slipped Cedric Diggory a note telling him about the dragons and the fact that the other two champions were sure to know about them as well; not knowing whether or not Hagrid had bothered to inform the sixth year Hufflepuff of what they were facing. Ryuu would not have felt right if the Hogwarts' teen was the only one to not have the week to prepare for the first task. Cedric had taken one glance at the note and glanced at Ryuu sharply as the blood drained from his face. The teen had then nodded in thanks before hurrying off towards the library.

Six hours later, Hatake pulled Ryuu out of his afternoon aikido lessons and dragged him out to the Academy carriage where Yamamoto had set up a portal to travel between Japan and Scotland in case of emergencies. Ryuu was caught off guard when he was hauled through said portal and then apparated up to the castle before being hustled inside where they were met by a contingent of instructors and researchers that worked for the school. He was then whisked down to the dungeons where the school's warded rooms were located.

He was at a bit of a loss when he was pushed into a chair at a work bench and handed a silk uniform, a spool of silver thread, a needle, and six of his ward samples (two each in stone, paper, and cloth) all six of them virtually untouched. He absently noted that the two schemes present were the ones with the self-cleaning and self-repairing wards that he'd added on a whim. Ryuu was then told he was to combine the two ward schemes into a single scheme and sew it onto the uniform using the silver thread. Ryuu blinked at the adults before he shrugged and spent a half an hour combining the two schemes before he began sewing.

Three and a half hours later, with cramped fingers, Ryuu sat behind magically reinforced tempered glass and watched as a wizard cast the Fiendfyre spell at the manikin wearing the uniform he'd modified. Ryuu watched in fascination as the flames took the shape of a tiger and charged directly at the manikin only for the flames to die out shortly after engulfing the figure. The wooden head, hands, and feet of the manikin had been devoured by the flames but the uniform was untouched and unharmed as was anything the uniform was touching.

_That's not good,_ Ryuu signed as he felt bile rise in the back of his throat as he took in the lack of a head on the manikin. _I'm going to have to start from scratch…_

"Start from scratch!? Do you have any idea what you've just done?" one of the researchers cried in shock as he caught sight of Ryuu's hand signs. "It took us three years to build and ward the fire chamber and the wards still have to be replaced and reinforced every other year because they don't prevent all damage. In the course of a single day you've not only created a ward scheme that protects against Fiendfyre but you've made it self-cleaning and self-repairing!"

_That does me no good if the dragon's fire burns my brain to a crisp,_ Ryuu remarked with sharp gestures to indicate his self-disgust with the oversight.

"Do you think you could make it portable and extend it out about a foot from the center of the ward?" Hatake asked. "Link it to a pendant you could wear around your neck and fingerless gloves for you hands…"

_It's possible… better to have it on a chain though, or a leather cord… it's a string ward not a cluster ward so it is best to allow enough room for it to run properly without tangling the runes. Otherwise I'd have had to add the runes over ninety percent of the uniform instead of just along the hem, cuff, neckline, waist, and down each leg and from armpit to hem. _

Another two hours and six trials later he had perfected the rune scheme to extend it out beyond the immediate ward. He was then shocked when one of the teachers put on the uniform and took the place of the wooden dummies down on the floor. He tried to make them stop but Hatake restrained him as the researcher cast the spell at the other man and would have screamed if he had a voice as the man was engulfed in flames shaped like a dragon. He fell to his knees and vomited violently in the belief that the man had just been burnt alive all in the name of testing his warding.

"Sugoi! I didn't even feel the heat!" a man's voice, giddy with pure excitement, crowed as he danced back into the observation room completely unharmed.

Ryuu looked up to see the stupid man who'd stood in the face of the Fiendfyre spell dancing around a hugging his fellow researchers.

"Congratulations, Ryuu-kun," Hatake whispered as he knelt down beside the stunned teen. "You just made an indestructible silk suit that can face even the devastating heat of Fiendfyre without risking the life of the one wearing it. Yamamoto-shishou has already had the paperwork filled out for you to claim the patent on your new ward so that it can't be recreated, bought, or sold without your express permission. He also has a contract prepared in hopes that you will allow your ward to be applied to all of the rooms down here in the dungeons; you can look that one over with your father and your family lawyer before signing it."

When he returned to Scotland later that night, Ryuu was still moving in a haze. He couldn't believe what he'd managed to accomplish in one day; he wasn't even certain he wasn't dreaming. The researchers had given him several more spools of silver thread in order for him to apply the wards to his tournament uniforms along with the gloves, boots, and silver necklace he'd created during the earlier tests. Hatake carried his copy of the patent paperwork he'd filed and the contract Yamamoto-shishou had written out to purchase his services in order to add the ward scheme to the school.

The rest of the week was spent warding both of his wands, all four of his new uniforms, all of his flutes, several pairs of his shoes, both of his staves, and collars for all three of his familiars. Shinjin and Shogun would have bands that would be set on their ankles while Tenji would have an actual collar to wear around his neck. When he wasn't working on the wards, he was testing his various flutes; trying to determine which one would appeal the most to the dragons based upon what he knew of them and how they'd sounded the night Satoshi had led him to them. Once he reaffirmed his original belief that the concert flute would allow him the best chance, he tried to work out both a soothing song for the beasts and a commanding one; taking care not to let even the smallest thread of magic touch the flute least he call one or more of the dragons up to the castle unintentionally.

On the morning of the first task, Ryuu was once again up before four and he took a hot shower before dressing in one of his silk uniforms; taking care to make certain each piece of the uniform had been properly warded before putting it on. He then slipped on the fingerless gloves and boots before dropping the silver necklace over his head. Next he grabbed his wands, his hanbo, and concert flute before gathering up his familiars and exiting the dorm. He wasn't too surprised to find Satoshi already dressed and waiting for him alongside a solemn and pensive Luna.

The three of them silently ghosted out of the tower and had barely gone three steps when Hatake stepped out of his room and joined them. By the time they reached the entrance to his parents' quarters, all of Ryuu's friends had joined him. As she had on the morning after Ryuu's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire, Luna sat perched on Ryuu's lap all through breakfast which the two of them shared from a single plate. Ryuu had even gained the courage to feed Luna couple of bites though he nearly stabbed her in the nose with the chopsticks he was using the first time due to nerves.

After breakfast, Luna was curled up against his chest when Ryuu recalled the information about the champions needing to open the Yule Ball. Needing something to look forward to in order to help him get through the coming task, Ryuu tapped Luna on the shoulder to get her attention. When she sat up and looked at him, Ryuu met her curious blue eyes with determined green eyes as he asked, _Will you be my date for the Yule Ball? I don't know what day it will be yet but I can't think of anyone else I'd want to go with._

"Yes! I thought you'd never ask," Luna replied with a pleased smile as she leaned forward and brushed his lips with hers in a quick kiss before she squealed and dashed off to find Taki in order to plan her dress so it matched the formal wear Ryuu had been provided Headmaster Yamamoto.

Ryuu in the mean time lifted a hand to his lips and stared after Luna with no little amount of shock over the fact that she'd kissed him.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki – brat  
>Hajime – gostart (imperative command)  
>Ne, ne – childish way of say hey, hey<br>Sugoi – wonderful

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I do apologize for this being posted so late, as I'd mentioned in an author's note in my other story, Banished Destiny, things have been rather hectic here and I haven't had much time for anything other than dealing with several issues that have cropped up in the past few months and then my daughter was kind enough to share a rather nasty cold/flu buggy with me and I've barely left my bed over the past three or four days. _

_As for the story, the part with the weighing of the wands took the wand descriptions from Goblet of Fire, though I tried to change that scene up a bit so it didn't run exactly like the book. The idea to use runes/wards was inspired by a couple of other FanFictions on this site; both having to do with Harry being a Rune Master or having an affinity for runes and I'll come back and add their names once I look them up because I can't remember the titles or their authors at the moment. I did try to go a different route than they used and hope I succeeded. As for how he was capable of creating such a ward in such a short period of time, I credit it to the fact that he's been taking Ancient Runes since his second summer at the Japanese Academy and his ability to think outside of the box.  
><em>

_Each of the tasks for the Tournament will have a separate chapter as there is a ton of action going on during each task and in between each task (including a brief mention of the Yule Ball). I don't know when the next chapter will be posted because this month is going to be even worse than the preceding months when it comes to things that have to be done. I won't bore you with the details of my personal life though, so until next time, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. ~ Jenn_


	33. First Task – Trial by Fire

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 32: First Task – Trial by Fire <span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>November 1994 ~ December 1994<em>

At eight o'clock, McGonagall knocked on the door and announced that it was time for the champions to meet outside in the tent by the Quidditch Pitch for the first task. Ryuu stood up and passed Tenji to his father to hold, Shogun to his honorary uncle, and Shinjin to Satoshi along with his hanbo and flute, both of which had been tied into a single bundle by the straps of the staff's sheath. The entire group then headed out of the castle, Luna taking Ryuu's hand in hers the moment they stepped out of his parents' room. Just outside of the tent, when the group began splitting up, Ryuu held Luna back a moment and shyly asked if he could have a kiss for luck.

Luna demurely smiled at him as she nodded shyly in return and Ryuu leaned down and gently kissed her lips, letting his lips linger against hers for just a heartbeat longer than the kiss she'd given him earlier before he pulled back. Satoshi, the only one to witness the second kiss, smiled to himself over the scene before he followed Luna up into the stands to join the rest of their group. He took the seat next to his girlfriend while Luna dropped down beside Taki and whispered into the older woman's ear while beaming ear to ear. When Kimi asked why he looked so smug, Satoshi leaned close to her and softly told her about the kiss he'd just witnessed and she had to cut off the joyful squeal she let out when everyone turned to look at her.

Meanwhile, down in the champions' tent, Ryuu was standing off to one side lost in his thoughts as he ran a finger over his tingling lips while trying not to think how naked he felt without his familiars and his staves. He never noticed the confused and pitying glances that were directed his way by the other champions; all of them thinking he was unprepared for the task ahead since he'd dressed in silk. The fine (highly flammable) fabric, is after all, highly inappropriate for fighting dragons in; or it would have been if not for the warding he'd woven into the edges of the entire uniform and down the sides of the legs and jacket.

The officials turned up a few minutes later and they were implored to select their 'opponent' from a burlap sack that Ludo Bagman was holding in his hands. Fleur went first, drawing out a replica of the Antipodean Opaleye, Viktor drew second and ended up with the Hebridean Black, and Cedric went third, drawing the Chinese Fireball which left Ryuu to face the Ukrainian Ironbelly. The irony of the smallest contestant drawing the largest dragon wasn't lost on Ryuu as he gave the tiny figure in his hands a wry grin. Each dragon had a chain and number hanging from its neck and Cedric would be first, Viktor second, Fleur third, and Ryuu last. They were told their task was to collect the golden egg from the nesting mother without causing lasting harm to the dragon or her eggs.

In order to prepare his friends and parents for his turn, Ryuu whistled for Shinjin and when the phoenix appeared in a shower of gold and silver dust, he greeted her warmly as she landed on his outstretched arm before passing her the miniature dragon and sending her back to Satoshi. Ryuu then dropped down onto the floor and entered his half-trance state so he could keep himself calm and centered while waiting for his turn.

He was briefly aware of Cedric being called out into the field and the loud cries and groans of the crowd followed by their applause. Viktor was called out next and his performance drew loud protests and weaker applause. Finally, Fleur headed out and Ryuu was left alone to wait for his turn; his only clue to what was going on the loud reactions of the crowd. When he heard applause for the third time, indicating Fleur had finished, Ryuu exited his trance, rose gracefully to his feet, and approached the opening of the tent to wait for his name to be called.

"And finally, representing the Japanese Academy of Sorcery, we have our fourth and final champion; Ryuu Natsume!" Bagman's voice rang out and Ryuu stepped out of the tent and walked confidently out into the arena that had been created in the middle of the school's pitch. "Mr. Natsume will be facing a Ukrainian Ironbelly; incidentally the Ironbelly is the largest dragon breed in the world; weighing in at over six tons upon reaching maturity. The specimen we have in front of us is a young female that currently weighs in at four and a quarter tons and is just shy of fifty-four meters in length from nose to tail-tip. Our youngest champion has his work cut out for him ladies and gentlemen."

Ryuu ignored Bagman as he paused at the point where the ground fell away into a huge stone pit where the Ironbelly had been secured into position with a thick chain. Her nest was tucked beneath her belly as she snaked her head left and right looking for any threats; her irritation clear as she hissed, growled, and roared in turns. Squaring his shoulders, Ryuu pictured his staff and flute in his mind along with Shinjin as he brought his hand up to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle filled with magic that echoed over the entire pitch; drawing the attention of the crowd and all four dragons (though he didn't see the reactions of the ones that were secured in their enclosures inside of the forest).

His phoenix appeared at his side a heartbeat later, his staff and flute firmly held in her talons and he thanked her with a kiss to her beak as he accepted his things before gently tossing her back into the air and whistled to send her back to his family so she wouldn't be caught in the coming confrontation. As Ryuu untied his flute and slipped his staff into place across his back, the Ironbelly shrieked out in rage and blew a gust of intense white-gold flames at Ryuu. The fourteen year old ignored the flames rushing towards him; safe in the knowledge that they would not hurt him or his flute as he tuned the instrument in case it had been jarred lose at some point during the transportation. The crowd gasped in fear and then sighed in relief as the flames faded out before they even reached the fourteen year old (most of them thinking he hadn't seen the flames in the first place).

Ryuu then closed his eyes and drew on his magic as he began playing a calming tune; focusing on keeping the melody soothing and non-threatening. When the angry cries of the dragon died down a bit, Ryuu opened his eyes and slowly began walking towards the dragon; weaving stronger magic into the music as he switched keys in an effort to gauge how closely she was paying attention to his magic as opposed to his presence. Up in the stands, the audience was speechless as they watched him walking towards the dragon without any fear; nothing more than a pretty tune and his flute standing between him and a dragon that could swat him like a fly. Unseen by the audience, which was on Ryuu's right side, the scar on the left side of his face was glowing bright silver as it pulsed in time to his heartbeat.

When he was no more than twenty feet away from the brooding mother, Ryuu shifted his song from calming to commanding; his notes becoming sharper, ordering the dragon to obey him and answer his summons. Like the day he summoned the phoenixes, Ryuu forgot to focus on a single individual as he played and several screams and curses rang out as the other three dragons broke free of their cages and charged into the enclosure with Ryuu and the Ironbelly. In the stands, Ryuu's friends and family paled and groaned as they immediately realized how big of a mistake Ryuu had just made. Luna's serenity cracked for just a moment as she watched the four dragons surround Ryuu and she twisted her hair into knots as she tried to keep her eyes on the fourteen year old standing virtually helpless down on the pitch.

Ryuu knew he'd screwed up the minute the other dragons broke into the arena and joined the Ironbelly but he dared not allow his song to falter now or he'd certainly die. Drawing on his magic, he wove the command around all four dragons; ordering them to stay calm, to stand back, and to not fight amongst each other. Ryuu's song slipped just a bit when he noticed the Hebridean Black's eyes had been damaged and the Chinese Fireball used that instant to belch out a huge mushroom of flame that engulfed Ryuu and the audience screamed and cried out in shock.

When the flames and smoke cleared, there was a shocked silence as Ryuu stood untouched as his song turned even sharper which caused the Fireball to cringe and back away with a whimper, its head bowing down to Ryuu who used one hand to hold his current note while using his other hand to pull out his hanbo and slap the dragon across the snout with the half staff; the equivalent of a flick to a dog's nose to let it know he was not pleased with its behavior. The audacity of a fourteen year old boy flicking a dragon that was easily fifty times his size on the nose left those watching gaping in astonishment.

Ryuu then returned the staff to his back as he shifted the song once more, this time to a melody that was less sharp and more coaxing; a gently apology and a command to behave. The dragons all crouched down and sat back as Ryuu approached the Ironbelly's nest. He then used his foot to roll the golden egg free before flipping it up into the air to catch it with one hand. Lifting the egg up above his head, he added a summoning whistle into the song using his right hand. Shinjin then appeared once more and grabbed hold of the egg before vanishing back into the stands once again. Task finished, Ryuu turned his back on the Ironbelly and focused on keeping the dragons perfectly calm while thanking them for cooperating with him.

He'd just reached the center of the four dragons when Bagman's voice announced that the task was complete and twenty dragon handlers rushed into the arena in order to deal with the escaped dragons. Knowing how crucial it was that he didn't cut his control too soon, Ryuu continued to play; urging the mothers to return to their eggs. The handlers were therefore shocked when the three dragons slowly backed out of the arena without any seeming direction and without needing to be magically subdued. Soon it was just the Ironbelly remaining and Ryuu slowly began easing off his magic in order to release the dragon slowly so as not to startle the enormous creature.

Forty-five minutes after he'd entered the arena, Ryuu dropped the flute from his mouth and stood looking up at the mother dragon. Said dragon than dropped her head down so she was looking eye to eye with Ryuu and the teen reached out and gently touched her nose. She breathed a curl of flames from her nostrils and the flames curled around Ryuu for a minute before vanishing; once more revealing that Ryuu was untouched. The dragon than gave a rumbling purr before she turned away from him and inspected her eggs before she allowed the handlers to shuffle her back into her enclosure in the forest.

"Did you see that ladies and gentleman? Can you believe that startling and fantastical demonstration!?" Bagman crowed in wonder as he stared down at Ryuu. "Utterly unbelievable! Ryuu Natsume, age fourteen, just tamed four… I repeat FOUR fully grown dragons with nothing more than a song! And not just any four dragons but four nesting mothers! I repeat… Un-be-leave-able!"

Ryuu for his part dropped down to his knees in exhaustion as he whistled for his familiars one last time; this time calling all of them. Shinjin appeared first, his egg in her talons, with Shogun gliding down to land on his shoulder a minute later. Tenji was last and the cat crawled up into his lap and washed his face with his tongue for a full minute before jumping up onto Ryuu's other shoulder. Shinjin trilled a soothing song that had Ryuu smiling as he took her burden from her so she could settle down on his head.

The four of them just sat there then, waiting for someone to tell him he could leave. Hatake escorted a nervous Madam Pomfrey out into the arena ten minutes later and she asked Ryuu if he was hurt and if he could walk. While Ryuu shook his head no to both questions, Hatake discreetly cast the familiar bond detection spell and breathed a sigh of relief when only the original four bonds showed up; he'd had no desire to deal with a live dragon on a daily basis or figure out how to house a nesting dragon on the school grounds.

It turned out that Ryuu was magically exhausted from the sheer amount of magic he'd needed to use to subdue and control all four dragons and a Pepper-Up potion had him on his feet a few minutes later. His score was announced shortly after he'd regained his feet; one ten (from Bagman), four eights (Dumbledore, Yamamoto, Crouch, and Maxime), and a five (Karkaroff) – giving him a total of forty-seven points which put him firmly in the lead. More than half of the audience booed Karkaroff's low score but the man ignored them.

Ryuu thought the surly wizard's score was more accurate since he'd goofed up big time when he didn't focus enough on what he was doing while first commanding the dragon. And while his performance was stunning, it could have been far better; a fact that he knew both of his Headmasters agreed on since they'd not given him perfect scores though he still thought they scored him far too high.

When he passed through the medical tent, where the other champions were having their injuries treated, Ryuu noted that all three of them had burns and singed clothes and Viktor had a bandage around his shoulder where the Hebridean Black had nailed him with its tail spikes. As one the three champions looked up to see how badly injured Ryuu had been hurt only to stare in shock when they saw he didn't have so much as a scratch on him let alone a burn; even his silk uniform had escaped unscathed. Ryuu just nodded to each of them as he headed out the back entrance where he was immediately bowled over by a distraught Luna whose hair had been knotted into a tangled mess; his familiars dispersing with squawks and hisses at the unexpected upset.

Her hands were everywhere as she searched for any sign of an injury only to burst into tears of relief when she found none. She then promptly collapsed onto his chest as she clung to him while Ryuu lay there for a moment in a daze before his brain reengaged and he gave her a comforting hug. To his shock she sat up and slapped him in the face before she leaned down and kissed him. She was gone a heartbeat later; fleeing towards the castle while Ryuu sat up and stared after her in complete confusion.

"Try not to ponder her behavior too deeply," Takashi murmured as he helped his son back up. "She was just upset about having to witness your most recent brush with death and while we all heard how well your wards worked it is one thing to know you were protected and quite another to see you engulfed in flames and fear you'd just become dragon flambé. I suggest you freshen yourself up before you go searching for her and take her an offering of chocolate."

Ryuu nodded dumbly as he allowed his father to steer him towards the castle once his familiars had returned to their usual perches; the rest of his friends and family tagging along behind to fend off the circling vultures (fans and reporters) that were desperate to question Ryuu or just get close enough to touch him. They were almost to the castle when they were accosted by a group of five dragon handlers led by Charlie Weasley. As one all five men bowed to Ryuu before Charlie addressed the teen.

"My supervisor wishes for me to ask you how you protected yourself from the flames of the dragons, what exactly you did to command and subdue the dragons for as long as you did, and if you'd be willing to teach our handlers how to do what you did or direct them to the person who taught you. I've also been told that should you wish it, you have a job waiting for you at the Dragon Reserve in Romania when you graduate."

Ryuu blinked up at Fred and George's older brother as he tried to digest the fact that he'd just been offered his second (or was it third) job in the past week; the first one (or two) having been offered to him by the researchers (and possibly the instructors) at the academy the night they tested and perfected his Dragon Ward (his name for the ward he'd created for the task). Not certain how to answer his question or reply to the offer, Ryuu glanced over his shoulder at his father and silently asked him for a little help with just his eyes.

"Ryuu-kun is running on empty at the moment; he's only standing by stint of a potion. Why don't you and your supervisor or his representative come by my quarters later this evening or whenever you have the time to spare and we can discuss it where there are fewer nosy people trying to eavesdrop."

"I will let my boss know and I'm certain you can expect us between six and seven this evening; right after supper."

"That should be fine, Weasley-san."

Charlie bowed once more before leading his co-workers back to where the dragons were being packed up so they could be returned to the reserve. Ryuu watched them go with an unreadable expression on his face as he tried to determine how he felt about what had just happened. In the end, he shook his head and continued on into the castle. Once in the castle, the group headed back towards Takashi and Taki's quarters where Taki immediately went to lay down; the stress of watching Ryuu face four dragons having been especially difficult on her due to how far along she was (her pregnancy nearing the end of the seventh month). Ryuu watched his mother go, having seen the tear stains on her face, and felt even worse then he had after Luna's strange behavior.

"Your mother will be just fine," Takashi gently assured Ryuu after seeing him watch her leave the room. "Your little brother or sister is just sapping her strength and making her a little more emotional than normal. Go take your shower; I'll have Dobby fetch one of your clean uniforms so you can change."

Ryuu didn't even have the strength to nod as he dragged his feet off in the direction of the bathroom. Thirty-eight minutes later, he was still standing beneath the soothing jets of the shower, the heat easing the lingering stiffness in his arms and shoulders from holding and playing his flute for over thirty minutes straight in such a tense situation. Leaning forward, he dropped his forehead against the stone wall to allow the splash of the water to hit his lower back and he sighed in appreciation as he let his eyes fall closed.

He had no idea how long he'd been standing there but after a while he stood up and turned around to wash his hair. A soft pop alerted him to Dobby's presence and Ryuu rinsed off the suds before turning off the water. He opened the curtain to the shower and found Dobby waiting with a warm towel and Ryuu gave the small elf a brief smile as he took the proffered cloth and slowly dried himself off.

The elf bounced excitedly a couple of times before it vanished in another pop and left Ryuu shaking is head at the silly elf's antics. At least he wasn't as manically devoted as he had been when he first demanded to be bound to Ryuu; that had been decidedly awkward. So had Hermione's rant when she found out he'd bonded with the elf; only for Satoshi to protect Ryuu from her wraith by explaining exactly who and what house elves were and why they _had_ to be bound to a family or they lost their magic and died.

It helped that Ryuu and his father had inadvertently saved the elf from his slow decent into madness by severing the elf's bond with his old family; which had been infusing their elves with dark magic and dark intent which twisted the minds of the magical youkai. Shaking his head to stop the drifting of his thoughts, Ryuu slipped on a clean pair of underwear before pulling on the cotton pants of his academy uniform. He then slipped on his white shirt and jacket but left both unbuttoned as he looked for the uniform he'd worn during the task only realize Dobby must have already taken it for him.

Sighing, he slung his hanbo across his back and plucked his flute from the counter before shuffling out of the bathroom and into the living room. He stumbled on the way to the couch as the last of the Pepper-Up left his system but managed to remain on his feet long enough to drop down onto the couch; never even noticing that most of his friends were in the room. Two minutes later, his head was propped up on the back of the couch and he was sound asleep; his exhaustion finally sending him into dreamland.

"How can he sleep like that? Doesn't it bother him to have his staff digging into his back?" Hermione asked as she glanced over at the sleeping teen.

"Practice," Satoshi laughingly replied as he climbed to his feet and removed the staff before laying Ryuu down on the couch so he'd be more comfortable. "He often pushed himself to exhaustion his first two summers at the academy and he'd drop wherever he was and sleep it off. It wasn't uncommon to see him with his chin perched on the corner of his chair at meals silently snoozing away with a pair of chopsticks propped in one hand or the other. I even found him leaning against the wall one time in between classes, sleeping with his face pressed against the wall and a line of drool running down to the floor. To this day I have no idea why he hadn't ended up flat on his face that day."

"You know… sleeping like that…" George muttered thoughtfully.

"…leaves him wide open to a good pranking," Fred continued with a nod.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, brother dear," George crowed.

"Well I am the more talented out of us both; steal your words and your clothes without you ever knowing," Fred boasted.

"Yeah… but I can steal a girl's breath away," George countered with a superior smirk.

"That's because she's laughing so hard at your pathetic efforts to woo her," Satoshi interjected with a snort.

"Ouch! You wound me," both twins said at the same time.

Everyone laughed at the antics of the three oldest boys of their group, feeling some of their tension and anxiety of having just watched Ryuu boldly walk into the jaws of death fading. Eight minutes later, a knock at the door revealed a teary-eyed Luna and Takashi let her in and drew her off to one side to ask her how she was holding up before sending her into the living room where he knew Ryuu was curled up on the couch. Hermione saw her first and leapt up to hug the distraught blonde before leading her to the couch as she whispered something in her ear. Luna briefly smiled in thanks before she sat down beside Ryuu and lifted his head into her lap, her fingers running through his still damp hair.

Ryuu woke with a brief start around supper time, slightly disoriented and thinking he was back in Japan with his parents in his early years because of the fingers running through his hair. Blinking up at the blue-eyed blonde leaning over him he let the memories of the morning wash over him as he stared up at her. He then reached up to gently tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear as he tried to gauge her current mood. Luna smiled tightly and Ryuu could still see the pain in her eyes and he felt horrible for causing her such pain through his actions.

"Oh, good, you are already awake, Ryuu-kun," Hatake announced as he leaned over the couch breaking the moment between Ryuu and Luna. "You need to come eat something; you slept through lunch."

Ryuu sighed and nodded regretfully as he lifted his head out of Luna's lap and sat up; a wave of dizziness washing though him as the blood rushed from his head. Shaking off the lingering after effects of his earlier magical exhaustion, Ryuu returned his staff to its sheath before climbing to his feet. He paused a moment before offering his hand to Luna; when she hesitantly placed her hand in his he gently helped her to her feet and pulled her into a hug. She clung to him almost immediately, her breath tickling his bare chest as her hands fisted in his open shirt and jacket. Their friends quietly slipped out of the room, giving the two of them a moment of privacy knowing that Ryuu was still dancing about his feelings for the dainty blonde.

"I'm sorry I slapped you earlier… I was just so scared," Luna whispered after a moment. "The wrackspurts slipped through my defenses when I was so weak with worry and it took me hours to dig them all out."

Ryuu gently lifted her chin and tenderly brushed the tears from her face before pressing a kiss to her forehead; a silent apology for worrying her. He then plucked her left hand, the one she'd slapped him with earlier, from his shirt and brushed a kiss across her knuckles letting her know he wasn't angry with her. The soft kiss he placed on her palm after turning her hand over told her he felt he'd earned the slap for causing her such pain.

She curled back into his arms then, wrapping her arms around his neck as she hugged him back as her tension and worry (both for his health and for the anger she'd feared he'd direct towards her) melted away. After a few minutes they reluctantly pulled apart and Ryuu took her hand in his as he led her into the small kitchenette where the others were already digging into the small feast provided by Dobby.

"Button your shirt, Ryuu-kun," Takashi ordered as he glanced up at the two late comers.

Ryuu blushed as he only just registered his partial state of undress and immediately turned around as he quickly did up the buttons along the front of his shirt as ordered. Once he was presentable, he seated Luna before dropping down into the chair beside hers and felt his stomach rumble silently in response to the tantalizing scents rising from the platters on the table. He filled up his plate from a couple of those dishes closest to him before he quickly clapped his hands together and offered thanks for the meal before digging into the food. He paused only a couple of times to dish up something for his familiars as they finally wandered into the room, the three of them having been just as exhausted as Ryuu since he'd pulled on their magic through their bond earlier.

After the meal everyone ended back up in the living room, Ryuu and Luna sitting side by side on the floor as they leaned back against the couch; his familiars and Himiko sprawled across them both. Propped in Ryuu's lap was the heavy golden egg he'd taken from the dragon's nest. He briefly recalled being told that the egg held a clue to the second task and he wasn't quite certain whether he really wanted to start thinking about the next task just yet. At the urging of his friends, he opened the hinged lid of the egg and felt his ears about burst as an unearthly wail rose from inside the egg and he couldn't close it fast enough.

"Well… that was informative," Satoshi quipped sarcastically as he lowered his hands away from his ears, drawing laughs from everyone else.

The rest of November and a good portion of December practically flew by as Ryuu tried to crack the secret of the wailing egg, trained himself into the ground, and pushed himself past his limits as he learned an assortment of useful spells that might help him in a later task. He also spent a good deal of time avoiding the rabid fan girls that were practically throwing themselves at his feet while begging for him to take them to the ball once it had been announced to the school at large. Ryuu ignored them and often thanked Luna for saving him from the depths of despair by agreeing to go with him so early so he wouldn't have to deal with the crazed witches.

She would laugh softly and call him a terrible flirt and tease each time he flattered her; bringing up the string of broken hearts he left in his wake everywhere he went. To the frustration of their friends the two of them continued to dance and skirt around their feelings for each other; Luna because she didn't wish to pressure Ryuu and Ryuu because he still didn't quite understand what he felt for his friend. While the two of them were fumbling through the steps of an unacknowledged courtship, the rest of his friends paired off in anticipation of the coming dance.

Fred and George asked their fellow teammates, Alicia Spinnet and Angelina Johnson respectively, while Satoshi asked his girlfriend of eight months, Kimi, to be his date. Lee Jordan, the twin's closest friend and fellow prankster, would be taking a rather pugnacious fifth year Ravenclaw whose name Ryuu couldn't recall. Neville blushingly invited a startled Hermione to the ball and once the initial shock wore off she happily accepted; much to Neville's surprise and joy. Colin, who was only a third year and therefore not originally invited to the ball, boldly asked Katie Bell (the third Gryffindor chaser) to go to the ball with her and to the older Gryffindors' surprise (and chagrin from those who'd hoped to ask her) the pretty fifth year agreed.

In the last two weeks leading up to the ball, which would be held on Christmas Eve, Luna taught Ryuu how to dance the waltz while Ryuu in turn taught Luna one of the traditional Japanese dances. Yamamoto-shishou had informed him earlier that after the champions opened the ball with the traditional waltz, each school would be performing a traditional dance from their country of origin before the dancing would be opened to the rest of the school. The Japanese Academy would be going first since Ryuu had been last in almost every event associated with the tournament to date. Joining them for the traditional dance would be the Headmaster and his wife, Ryuu's parents, Satoshi and Kimi, and several of the teachers from the academy.

On the night of the ball, Takashi helped Ryuu dress in his formal kimono and hakama, the teen only ever having worn a similar formal outfit once before (at Takashi and Taki's wedding). Once he was presentable, and his hair tamed as best it could be, Takashi presented him with a ceremonial katana that he helped him to strap across his back alongside his hanbo, his full length staff being left behind for the night once again. Ryuu was slightly amazed when he glanced in the mirror and found a young, confident samurai instead of the insecure wizard he usually saw reflected. His father then handed him a wrist corsage made from a pair of pale silvery-pink cherry blossoms and white baby's breath that he was told to give to Luna.

Ryuu waited in the living room for his date alongside his father, Satoshi, and Neville and when the four ladies stepped out of the back bedroom all four gentlemen turned to stare. Ryuu thought his mother looked like an angel, dressed as she was in a navy blue kimono printed with white cats that looked something like Nyanko-sensei, a silver obi, and her hair done up in a traditional bun; her outfit emphasizing and drawing attention to her advanced pregnancy. Hermione looked quite lovely too in periwinkle blue dress robes, her hair painstakingly tamed into ringlets and artfully piled up atop of her head; Neville apparently thought so as well as the boy stuttered out several compliments as he handed her a pink rose corsage. Kimi was dressed in a black kimono with red griffins on it, a red obi tied around her waist, and her hair hanging down her back in a single braid threaded through with red ribbon.

And then Ryuu looked to Luna and felt as if someone had stolen his breath as he gazed upon her delicate beauty. She was dressed in a gold, ankle length dress that had twin dragons embroidered in red, white, and silver thread wrapping around the front and back and a wide red obi tied just above her waist; emphasizing her slender frame. Like his mother and Hermione, Luna's hair had been piled on her head in an artful bun held in place by a pair of gold and ivory hairpins, a few shorter strands left loose to frame her face. His mother had helped her put on a light layer of make that brought out the blue in her eyes and drew attention to her bow shaped mouth and Ryuu felt his heart stop beating as she walked up to him.

_You look… you are so beautiful,_ Ryuu signed once he could make his hands move, his eyes drinking her in as he gazed down at her. _The stars will envy you tonight for you put the sun to shame with your beauty._

Luna blushed prettily at the compliment and murmured a soft thanks even as she complimented him on how handsome he looked in his outfit. A prod from his father had him fumbling with the corsage he held in his hand as he slipped the elastic band over Luna's left wrist before bringing her hand up to brush a kiss across her knuckles. Ryuu then fell into step beside her, her hand lightly resting on his arm as his father led their group out of his rooms and towards the Great Hall; his eyes frequently straying in her direction as his heart beat wildly in his chest.

Later, Ryuu wouldn't be able to tell anyone what he'd eaten for supper, who'd he'd sat beside (aside from Luna), or what the topic of conversation had been through out the meal. The only thing he could do was describe Luna's beauty, how it felt to dance with her in his arms, and how stunning she'd looked beneath the moonlight when they'd walked outside to cool off later in the evening. Ryuu never even turned to stare at Fleur, whose veela nature drew most every other eye in the room; he only had eyes for his date.

Several other girls tried to get him to dance with them but he ignored their desperate attempts to attract his attention; his heart and eyes seeking out his date time and time again. The only ladies he danced with aside from his date were his mother, Kimi, Hermione, Angelina, Alicia, and Katie (as a favor to his friends while they each took a turn dancing with Luna in return).

By the end of the evening, Ryuu felt as if he might finally understand the feeling that Luna instilled in him but like the sunset it was fleeting and he was left feeling frustrated and elated in turns as he struggled with his desire to hold her close and… dare he say it? Ravish her? When they parted just inside the Ravenclaw Common Room later that night, Ryuu once again asked permission to kiss her; which Luna readily gave. This time he let his lips linger against his just a little longer as he breathed the scent of ginger and nutmeg that clung to her.

After Luna reluctantly left his arms, he'd stood there staring up the stairs leading to girls' dorms for a half an hour as he tried to sort out his feelings for the dainty blonde. It wasn't until Satoshi came in and pushed him off towards his own dorm and bed that Ryuu finally pulled his head out of the clouds.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And there we have the first task finished as well as the Yule Ball. I'll apologize for not giving more detail about the ball but I had trouble describing the various dances I wanted each school to perform and so left it up to the readers' imaginations. Mostly, the ball was meant to prod Ryuu into seeing Luna as something more than a friend; though he's still young enough to be a bit clueless as to what he sees her as now. _

_The only other thing I wanted to make note of is Ryuu commanding the dragons; something that was mostly possible due to his status as a living focus because he can draw upon the ambient magic in order to sustain the magical command far longer than someone else though channeling that much magic is tiresome (hence his exhaustion). The reason there are so few people out there that can command a dragon (or another magical creature) is because it requires far more concentration to summon and command magical creatures due to their magic giving them a measure of protection against other magics in addition to a considerable amount of power. _

_And Ryuu is nothing if not determined and therefore his ability to focus on his intent is far higher than other wizards and witches his age. His flicking the dragon on the nose was inspired by another FanFic and I want to say it was the same one that inspired by use of runes in the first task but I can't be certain. I just know I'm not the first one to have him admonish the dragon that way. _

_If anyone else happens to know the story I'm referring to, I'd appreciate the title so I can come back and give credit where credit is due. If not, I'll eventually get around to skimming through the thousands of stories in my community to find it when I have the time. _

_Anywho, the next chapter will cover the second task and will hopefully be up later this week as my update schedule should be a little closer to what it used to be since the unpleasantness that was affecting my writing is not as bad as it was and should be finished one way or another on the fourth next month. In the mean time, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. ~ Jenn_


	34. Second Task – Trial by Water

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 33: Second Task – Trial by Water<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>January 1995 ~ February 1995<em>

Shortly after the New Year, Ryuu received a hint about how to solve the riddle of the egg by way of Cedric Diggory through Satoshi; whom the sixth year had waylaid in between classes when he couldn't find Ryuu. The hint to take a bath with the egg hadn't really made much sense but he'd gamely followed through with the suggestion. He didn't have any luck until he dropped the thing into the tub when it slipped out of his wet hands and caught the tail end of a song being sung when he'd slipped beneath the water for a moment while retrieving it. He spent a few minutes listening and memorizing the song, letting the words of the two refrains run through his mind several times before he drained the water, got out of the tub, and dried himself off.

Once he was dressed, he carried the egg into the living room of his parents' Hogwarts' apartment and dropped down onto the couch beside his mother. He set the egg aside for a moment as he reached out and tentatively placed his hands on his mother's stomach so he could feel the baby kicking inside of her; his earlier mixed feelings and insecurities over the baby long gone now that he'd had time to get used to the idea. He was actually looking forward to greeting his new little brother or sister a little later that month and spent what little free time he had with his mother (Luna often joining him). Reluctantly pulling his attention away from the as yet unborn child, Ryuu gathered up a pen and parchment as he quickly scribed out the two short verses he'd learned from the egg.

_We can not dwell above the ground,  
>you must seek us where our voices sound.<br>A treasure we hold in our caverns cold,  
>can you take it from us, are you so bold?<em>

_You will have but a single hour to look,  
>for this much needed treasure that we took.<br>Do not flounder on your path through the dark,  
>least you lose your treasure at the hour's mark.*<em>

He spent a few minutes trying to interpret the riddle before he dropped his pen in disgust and brought out his pan flute in hopes that he could think clearer if he played for a bit. His mother hummed along as he played one of the first songs she'd taught to play seven years earlier and Ryuu felt his frustration over the tournament melt away as he pretended, for just a moment, that he was once more back in Japan with his family with no worries and no cares beyond his lessons. Ryuu was startled out of his peaceful trance when his mother suddenly gasped and he twisted around and stared in shock as he saw his mother grasping her belly while leaning forward, a dark liquid soaking her pants and the couch.

"_TAKASHI!_"

Ryuu flinched back a bit as his mother yelled for his father at the top of her lungs and continued to clutch her belly. Fearing something was wrong, Ryuu did the only thing he could; he used his flute to summon Dobby and when the elf appeared he pointed towards his mother. The elf took one look at the pregnant woman and popped away with a startled squeak of pure joy; leaving a confused Ryuu in a growing panic. His father tore into the apartment a moment later, having been in his office going through paperwork, and rushed to Taki's side.

"Dobby just told me," Takashi soothed as he dropped down onto the couch beside his wife and gathered her in his arms. "I sent him to fetch Madam Pomfrey. Did you want me to carry you into our bedroom or did you wish to go up to the infirmary instead?"

"Bedroom is fine," Taki gasped out once she caught her breath. "I don't know what made the little one so impatient all of a sudden; it was like someone flipped a switch."

"Ryuu-kun, go grab several towels and bring them to my room and then wait by the entrance; Madam Pomfrey should be here any minute," Takashi ordered as he lifted Taki into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

His parents' quarters became a flurry of activity for the rest of the night and Ryuu was left worrying and floundering as he heard his mother cry out a few times until Hatake pulled him out and took him to the dojo to have him train for a bit. His uncle also explained that there was nothing wrong with the baby or his mother; that she'd just gone into labor a bit earlier than expected which helped Ryuu calm down a bit though he still worried. He slept that night in his uncle's quarters, his emotions too out of control for him to stay in his dorm room. Satoshi and Kimura joined them as well in order to prevent any rumors springing up about inappropriate behavior as had happened briefly at the beginning of term between Satoshi and Ryuu.

First thing the next morning, Ryuu was dragging all three adults back down to his parents' apartment where he found his mother wrapped up in blankets on the couch cradling a tiny bundle in her arms. His father looked a little worse for wear as he carried a breakfast tray to his wife; looking as if he'd spent the entire night tugging at his hair and worrying (which he had). Ryuu hovered just inside the entrance, torn between wanting to see his new sibling and make certain his mother was fine or disappearing to give his parents a little privacy.

Taki ended his indecision when she glanced up and smiled at him before calling him to come meet his little brother. Ryuu slipped forward hesitantly and sat down beside his mother at her request and before he knew what she had planned she'd placed the small babe in his arms; making certain he cradled the baby's head and neck in the crook of his arm.

"Your father and I decided to name him, Kenji," Taki announced as Takashi placed the breakfast tray on her lap before dropping his hand on her shoulder as they both watched Ryuu holding his little brother.

Ryuu's throat tightened a bit; he knew that Kenji meant strong (or healthy) son but more importantly was the fact that it was a name that meant second son. His parents had just reaffirmed his place as their first son even though he had been adopted and he smiled down at the tiny babe resting peacefully in his arms. Pulling the blanket back a bit Ryuu discovered that his little brother had his mother's soft red-blonde hair though it looked messy like his and his fathers. A moment later Kenji blinked open his eyes and yawned and Ryuu gazed into golden brown eyes he'd often seen smiling at him from his father's face.

Ryuu's familiars crowded around him after a few minutes, Shogun and Shinji perching on his shoulders while Tenji stood on his knees and balanced his forepaws on Ryuu's arm so the kneazle could peer into the blanket. Reaching out with a finger, Ryuu traced a line down his brother's cheek and smiled as the baby's mouth opened and automatically turned towards the finger. He then tapped Kenji on the nose which made the babe blink and chase his finger upwards with his mouth again.

When his brother began fussing a bit, Ryuu let him suckle on his knuckle while he whistled softly to Shinjin, the phoenix trilling a few soft notes in reply which immediately calmed the baby. When his mother finished eating, Ryuu reluctantly passed his brother back to her so she could feed him and Ryuu was dragged off for his own breakfast by Satoshi when it became apparent that the fourteen year old wasn't going to move on his own.

The rest of the day past by in a blur as Ryuu's thoughts kept drifting back to his new baby brother and if not for Hermione and Neville he probably wouldn't have survived his classes for the day. It wasn't until supper, when Satoshi asked him if the hint had helped with the egg, that Ryuu realized he'd never finished figuring out the riddle and he sighed as he wrote the two verses down for his friend wondering if maybe having someone else read through it their input would help him make sense of it.

It was while they were in the library searching through various books hoping to find a hint that Ryuu suddenly knew where the next task would be taking place. Hermione and Luna had been having another one of their debates about the creatures that Luna often saw; Hermione insisting that the creatures had proper names which would help those who couldn't see them recognize what she was talking about while Luna preferred the made up names her mother had invented for the creatures. Hermione had just given up and muttered something about leading a horse to water but not being able to make it drink when Ryuu made the connection between hearing the song from the egg under water and the first two lines of the riddle.

Once he knew the task would take place in the water, Ryuu started thinking about what kinds of creatures could live in the water and yet speak. Hermione came up with the answer the moment he asked the question of the group at large; mermaids. And Ryuu paled at the mere thought of being forced to deal with the underwater youkai; sure he'd gotten used to dealing the occasional youkai that managed to make it into the school but he'd never before stepped into a youkai's domain or faced them in their strong-hold. It would be pure madness and he couldn't seal them beneath the water if they chose to attack.

Jumping to his feet, Ryuu bolted out of the library and headed straight towards his father's office in a slight panic. When he found the office empty, Ryuu recalled that his father was currently in his parents' apartment with his mother and new brother. He'd just reached the entrance when he was waylaid by Hatake; who'd been warned by Satoshi that Ryuu had flipped out over what he'd learned about the second task.

"Whoa… slow down there, gaki," Hatake instructed as he snagged Ryuu about the waist and held him up off the floor until he calmed down a moment. "What's got you so wound up?"

_The lake… the second task is to take place in the lake and they've gotten the merfolk involved. I have to swim to the bottom of the lake and face the demons in their homes for the task! I know how to swim but I can't swim that well… at least not enough to escape if they try to… if they… Oji, I can't go in the lake! I can't seal them under water!_

"Don't you think you might just be over reacting a bit?" Hatake asked gently. "You don't even know if these merfolk are youkai or if they are just normal mermaids and mermen. And you have to admit that not all of the magical youkai you've encountered have been twisted; your father sealed the worst of the ones in the area a couple of years ago. Center yourself and take a moment to really think about what the task is going to involve and the fact that you know where it will take place now. Once you've calmed down; I think it would be best if you spent a bit of time researching the information available on the merfolk so you will know what to expect when you face them in the task."

_I… arigatou, oji, I just… I never expected them to use youkai in any of the tasks. Or rather I never expected to be required to face the youkai some place where I could not seal them if things got ugly. Chikushou… how am I supposed to breath under water long enough to complete the task!?_

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you… go do your research and bring me your strategies in the morning when you show up for your morning training. We can look them over then and plot out the training you will need before the task."

Ryuu nodded and returned to the library and apologized to his friends for taking off like he had. He then spent the rest of the night researching spells, looking up information about the merfolk, and bouncing ideas off his friends. Hermione found several useful spells, Neville suggested a couple of useful plants, the twins knew about a few potions that might help, and Satoshi suggested Ryuu practice handling his staff or a knife in the water in case he needed to fight. Ryuu himself wished he'd gone for the title of Elemental the previous summer instead of Illusionist but it was far too late to worry about it now.

The rest of January saw Ryuu training like mad, brewing several potions, and ordering several items through owl order. He didn't spend a whole lot of time with his parents, new brother, or his friends during this time but when he did he always made it a point to avoid thinking about the fast approaching second task. His friends and family in the mean time slowly watched him pushing himself to his limits again; his complexion growing pale while his eyes grew dark smudges beneath them as he lost sleep due to worry and fear of the upcoming task.

He probably would have lost weight too if not for Luna appointing herself his designated meal watcher; often dropping herself into his lap (even in the middle of the Great Hall) and feeding him personally if he tried to skip meals. Ryuu soon learned it was just easiest to eat the meal to spare himself the embarrassment and to avoid his body from reacting to Luna's blossoming body pressing close to him.

On the morning of the second task, Ryuu woke early and dressed solemnly; his entire aura dark and depressing unlike the nervous excitement and determination that had filled him prior to the first task. He pulled on his silk pants, slipped on the diver's belt with fifty pounds of weights, strapped a long diver's knife to his left thigh, and secured the safety strap attached to the hilt around the belt so he wouldn't lose the knife if he dropped it. After that he tucked the hems of his pants into his knee high tabi boots spelled for comfort and flexibility, and laced the ties of the boots tightly so that his pants would not float free and his boots would not slip off easily.

Out of habit he pulled on the white silk shirt of his uniform and buttoned it up before tucking the ends into his pants. Over top he pulled on the silk jacket and buttoned it as well before slipping his hanbo on his back. Around his neck he wore his protective amulets and the silver necklace with the Dragon Ward etched onto it. Next he removed his wand holsters and slipped them into the pockets of his pants, securing one in each pocket.

Before he placed his wands into their holsters, he carefully attached cords to the handles and secured the one on his holly wand to his diver's belt and the cherry wand to his right wrist, so if he lost them at any point he could retrieve them easily enough. He then slipped on the fingerless gloves he'd worn during the first task and picked up the small pack that held his gillyweed, a couple of general healing potions, a bottle of Pepper-Up Potion, and a dozen polished pebbles of lapis lazuli and turquoise (two stones highly prized by the merfolk). He clipped the bag to his waist and gathered his subdued familiars; the three animals reflecting his current mood.

At the appointed time, Ryuu marched out to the platform that had been erected on the edge of the lake as if he was attending a funeral or worse… walking to his execution. His fellow champions, who had not seen much of him over the past month or so, seemed shocked by the changes in his attitude and physical appearance; not surprising since he looked something like death warmed over. Upon reaching the platform Ryuu stood off to one side and stared at the lake with horrified fascination as his stomach twisted itself into knots.

When told to prepare themselves for the start of the task, Ryuu slipped his staff on his back and took off his jacket, meticulously folding the garment before passing it to Hatake who would be watching over both his winged familiars and his belongings while he was in the lake. He took off his silk shirt next and folded it as well as several gasps sounded from the audience and his fellow champions as his scars were exposed.

The one on his back looked particularly gruesome with how pale he currently was; the ink stained skin standing out starkly against the rest of his skin. Over the past two years, as Ryuu had grown, the scar had stretched and spread, making it look even bigger than it had been originally and while it had smoothed out some, there was still an obvious dent where the basilisk's fang had shaved away the underlying muscle and tissue. The webs of burn scars on the outside of his forearms stood out clearly as well, the tracery of white scars glinting in the afternoon light as he tightened the strap of the bag on his waist and settled his staff across his back once more. The only ones that noticed the long slash across his abdomen were his fellow champions as the scar was mostly hidden by the waistline of his pants.

Ryuu ignored his competition and dug out a clump of the gillyweed he'd ordered from the apothecary and held it loosely in his left hand while his right hand passed Shogun and Shinjin over to his uncle before sending Tenji to sit with Luna and Himiko. He then slipped his right hand into the right pocket of his pants to finger the handle of his cherry wand while he waited for the task to begin. He grew pensive as Bagman announced to the audience that each champion was to make their way down to the center of the lake to recover a golden box that was being guarded by the merfolk. They would have one hour before their 'treasure' was lost to them forever.

His hands started shaking as Bagman fired off a concussive shot from his wand, signaling the start of the task. He stood staring at the water for a full five minutes as the other champions dove in and headed into the depths as he wished he didn't have to be there. Moving woodenly, he shoved the clump of gillyweed into his mouth and mechanically chewed the rubbery worm-like plant as he slipped into the water reluctantly.

He swallowed the gillyweed and soon felt the piercing pain of gills forming on the side of his neck as he dropped his head beneath the surface of the water. Bringing his hands out in front of him, Ryuu kicked his now flippered feet (his boots having reformed around them as they changed thanks to the spells woven into them) and headed into the murky depths of the lake. After a while he drew out his cherry wand and used the underwater propulsion spell that Hermione had found for him to push himself quickly past the kelp forests where he could see dozens of grindylows lurking.

He never saw any sign of the other champions as he shot through the water, aiming for the singing voices he could hear in the distance. He briefly worried that he was the only one still down in the lake because he'd hesitated entering the water but pushed the thought from his mind because it only brought back his fear of what he still had to face. A shadow passed over top of Ryuu and he glanced up nervously to see the giant squid lazily marking him close to thirty feet above him and he used the propulsion spell a second time to speed away from the creatures because he wasn't certain if it was friendly or not.

Another fifty feet or so into the lake, Ryuu dropped down into the darker depths as he heard the singing growing louder. Slowing down a bit, Ryuu began searching for traces of the merfolk city he'd learned was somewhere on the bottom of the lake; his eyes darting left and right as if he expected to be attacked any minute. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt eyes watching him and he spun around and brought his wand to bear only to freeze as he saw a creature hovering just a few feet away from him.

Dropping his wand, he stared at the merchild, he couldn't have been more than a few years old; if merfolk aged the same way humans did though if they were anything like the other youkai this one could be a couple hundred years old instead. The child was staring at Ryuu just as intently as Ryuu was staring at him until the boy suddenly darted away, his tail swishing through the water and stirring up a cloud of dirt from the bottom of the lake. A moment of indecision later, Ryuu followed after the merchild; kicking his feet slowly as he swam through a series of craggy pillars that rose from the lake bed.

He'd just slipped down a little lower when he came across the child a second time and this time Ryuu slowed to a stop and watched the child peering around a pillar watching him with wide blue eyes; his green hair shifting in the current of the water. Slowly… so as not to frighten the child again, Ryuu pulled one of the stones from the pouch around his waist and held it up so the child could see the smooth green-blue, gold, and black pebble of turquoise and the merchild's eyes light up with excitement.

Ryuu then pointed to the stone, pointed to himself, and pointed to the child before bringing his hand up to his ear to indicate the song still filling the water. It took him a few minutes to get the child to understand what he was asking but once he did the child nodded enthusiastically and Ryuu smiled as the child led him straight to the village. He thought maybe… just maybe he'd been wrong to fear the youkai and was glad that his uncle had been able to make him see reason that day he'd first learned about the task. If he hadn't done the proper research he'd never have learned that he could use the stones to barter with the merfolk.

For some reason the small boy took Ryuu around the edges of the mercity before leading him through the maze of caves and pillars to the sunken ruins of an old castle. The boy pointed to the only door leading into the building before slipping inside and Ryuu slowly followed the child with one hand on his wand. Inside he found glittering globes of light chasing away the darkness to reveal four golden boxes sitting in a row on the floor; the treasure the champions were meant to find. A glance around the room revealed that he was the first one to reach the city and he wondered where the others were and why they hadn't made it first since he'd been the last one to actually start the task.

Shaking his head, he turned to the waiting merchild and held the promised stone out to the boy. The child swam right up to him and plucked the stone out of his hand (the amulet he wore ineffective beneath the water) and cupped it in his clawed fingers as he grinned widely; revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth. Ryuu gently reached out and tapped the child on the arm, drawing his attention back to him, and pulled out a piece of the lapis lazuli this time and gave it to the child as a thank you gift for bringing him to the treasure.

Ryuu then swam up to the four treasures and studied them for a moment; noting that each one had a different word etched into the top of the box; the words were magic, wit, archery, and staff. Frowning, Ryuu tried to think of what the words could mean as there didn't seem to be any connection between one and the next even though the boxes were otherwise identical. The sound of voices fast approaching drew Ryuu's attention back to his location and he glanced out the door to see several adult merfolk converging on the ruins. Not wanting to be trapped inside of the small room in case the adult merfolk took offense to him bribing the merchild into helping him; Ryuu reached down and grabbed the box with the word staff on it, tucked it into his pouch, and headed towards the exit.

Just before he left the ruins, he glanced around for the merchild to say goodbye only to find the room completely empty. Shrugging he began turning back towards the door only to feel clawed hands grabbing hold of his legs and pulling him out of the room. Jerking around, he saw a dozen mermen glaring menacingly down at him and he pulled out his hanbo and used it to catch the door frame to prevent them from dragging him off as he tried to kick free of the three that were holding him. Several more of the creatures rushed forward to wrest his hands free of the staff and it wasn't long before he was parted from his hanbo; the merfolk quickly hauling him deeper into their village. Ryuu began panicking as he continued to struggle against the hands holding him, he had no idea what the merfolk wanted with him but he seriously doubted it would be anything good since they looked distinctly unhappy.

Meanwhile, up on the surface, in the stands that had been set up surrounding the platform that the champions had launched from; the audience was watching the lake attentively. They couldn't see what the champions were doing or follow them through the dark depths but they had a clear view of the chamber where the treasure boxes were being held thanks to a specialized monitoring charm that was linked to the magical globes that had been placed inside the underwater ruins to illuminate the room. The spell had been activated shortly after Ryuu had dropped down out of view and the crowd of teachers, students, tournament officials, ministry personnel, reporters, and guests had been eagerly watching to see which champion would reach the treasures first.

High up in the stands, where they had the best view of the magical window displaying the room, Hatake was sitting beside Kimura and Flitwick, the three of them softly discussing the chances of Ryuu arriving within the time limit allotted after his hesitation at the start. Around the half hour mark, the audience gasped as the view window spread over the surface of the lake revealed a young merchild entering the room.

A scattering of applause and whistles broke out after that when Ryuu slipped into the room on the fin of the small boy and the three instructors grinned at each other because not only did Ryuu reach the treasures in time; he'd been first. Murmurs broke out when Ryuu didn't immediately grab a treasure box and there was more than a little surprise when the teen passed a small piece of turquoise to the merchild before giving him a chunk of lapis lazuli. Ryuu then moved closer to inspect the gold boxes; the teen seemingly lost in thought as he frowned down at them.

When Ryuu started and glanced behind him there was more murmuring because they couldn't hear what the teen had heard since they could only see what was happening in the room. The green eyed fourth year then darted forward and picked up the box with the word staff on it and both Kimura and Flitwick groaned before passing a couple of sickles each to Hatake. The three of them had placed bets at the start of the task on which box Ryuu would take if he had a choice and Kimura had stated Ryuu would take the one labeled magic, Flitwick the one labeled wit, and Hatake had insisted that Ryuu would take the one with the word staff.

Hatake was grinning smugly right up until the crowd gasped as they saw clawed hands reach out and grabbed hold of Ryuu's legs. The audience watched with baited breath as Ryuu used his hanbo to prevent himself from being pulled from the room against his will as he struggled to free himself. Hatake wasn't the only one to let out a loud groan when the fourteen year old was swarmed by several merfolk and separated from his staff. They lost sight of Ryuu completely at that point as the fish-like beings hauled the teen away out of reach of the monitoring charms.

All three of Ryuu's familiars let out shrill protests while Nyanko, the unofficial fourth familiar, let out a loud yowl and dropped down off his perch on Takashi's shoulder. The kneazle and the cat ended up on the platform pacing back and forth in agitation while the two birds took to the sky and began flying out over the lake as they screeched shrilly.

In the mean time, the other champions began appearing in the ruins; Fleur arriving first and grabbing the magic box while Viktor entered at the same time as Cedric and the two wizards held a pantomimed conversation before they each reached out and grabbed one of the boxes; Cedric ending up with wit and Viktor with archery. Cedric was the only one of the champions to recognize Ryuu's hanbo and the older boy picked it up as he glanced around the room before he left with both treasure and staff in hand.

Just before the hour mark, the three seventeen year olds surfaced from the bottom of the lake and made their way to the platform. All three of them glanced curiously around for the youngest champion as they'd expected him to already be back; the evidence that he'd beat them to the treasure apparent. Hatake helped them out of the water and quietly questioned each of them if they'd seen any sign of Ryuu while they'd been down in the village and when they answered negatively he grew even more worried (Cedric silently passing the Japanese wizard Ryuu's staff). Up in the stands, Ryuu's friends and family were also growing concerned; all of them fully aware of how nervous Ryuu had been about this task and his mother and father both completely aware of how much Ryuu feared the merfolk would try something.

Fifteen minutes after the hour, when Ryuu still hadn't resurfaced, Headmaster Dumbledore approached the lake and tried summoning Merchieftainess Murcus but got no response from the mermaid. Takashi pulled Taki close as they pensively watched the surface of the lake, ignoring the now empty view of the chamber, hoping to see some sign of their missing son making his way to the surface. Another fifteen minutes passed when the first stirrings of something happening finally appeared out near the center of the lake. Water began bubbling up, boiling out of the lake like a water fountain just being turned on. Not long after that a geyser erupted twenty feet into the air as a small figure was ejected from the depths of the dark lake.

Screams rang out as the figure tumbled back to the lake and hit it hard; splashing down hard enough to raise waves that rolled outwards even as the figure was pulled back beneath the water by dozens of clawed hands. Nyanko let out a loud call of 'Natsume!' before he disappeared in a puff of smoke as he reverted to his original form. A blast of air knocked everyone watching back as the unseen (except by the only two people in the audience able to see the youkai) wolf spirit launched himself out towards the center of the lake where Shogun and Shinjin were still circling in agitation.

Twice more the figure, whom most people finally realized must be the missing champion, surfaced and twice more he was dragged back down by the merfolk in the time it took for Madara to reach the center of the lake. The wolf spirit didn't hesitate once it reached the spot where Ryuu had last been, diving head first into the dark waters. The red symbol on his forehead shone brightly as he blasted the attacking merfolk away from Ryuu and grabbed hold of the now unconscious teen in his jaws before he rocketed back up into the sky. When he burst out of the water, he created yet another geyser that had the crowd gasping and clutching at their hearts as Ryuu hovered in the air instead of crashing back down to the surface as he had the first time.

Madara then bounded across the surface of the lake, carrying Ryuu towards safety as the merfolk surfaced yet again and gave chase through the water. Ryuu's unmoving body was soon placed on the floating platform and screams rang out as a pool of blood and water immediately began spreading out from his right leg. Once the teen was safely out of harm's way, Madara turned back towards the lake and viciously attacked the merfolk; destroying them in a rage for daring to harm his boy. Shinjin and Shogun were the first ones to reach Ryuu, their cries sharp and piercing as they dropped heavily onto the platform beside him as Tenji dashed up a moment later (the kneazle having needed to thread his way through a number of feet from the opposite end of the dock).

Madam Pomfrey, Headmaster Dumbledore, Headmaster Yamamoto, and Hatake were the next ones to reach the unmoving teen; Hatake having already been down on the platform as he'd apparated down shortly after Ryuu's familiars had began acting up. Takashi was torn between rushing down to his injured son and comforting his wife who'd begun crying and clinging to him the moment it became apparent something was wrong with their son; in her arms Kenji wailed plaintively as if he too knew there was something wrong. A few rows below Ryuu's parents, Satoshi held a distraught Luna in his arms as the diminutive blonde struggled to run to Ryuu's side; the nineteen year old knowing now was not the time to crowd around their injured friend.

Madam Pomfrey expelled the water from Ryuu's lungs and stomach first; his blue tinged complexion telling her he desperately needed the oxygen. Once she had him breathing, if some what erratically, she turned her attention to his wounded leg, using her wand to cut away the pant leg to reveal over two dozen puncture wounds in the thigh and calf; the groupings of three revealing that the merfolk had stabbed him repeatedly with their tridents. That was on top of the numerous scratches that covered his torso and arms from where the mermaids had scratched him with their sharp claws.

While the healer was cleaning and attempting to heal the multiple wounds, Dumbledore attempted to find out what happened at the bottom of the lake; unfortunately Madara had not spared any of the merfolk that had given chase and that included the Merchieftainess. The three older champions watched silently as their fellow competitor was patched up, all three of them thinking on how that could have been them; not realizing that the only reason Ryuu had been attacked was because of his grandmother's legacy.

Since Ryuu's birth name had been pulled from the Goblet the original three champions had questioned the kid's ability to keep up with them. Cedric had heard the earlier rumors about the things the kid had done in his first three years but had believed most of them to be gross exaggerations. After the teen had made it through the first task unscathed (if exhausted), the three seventeen year olds had taken a closer look at the rumors that surrounded the boy; the tale of him facing all four dragons at once making them wonder if there was any the truth in the tales they'd heard of Harry Potter growing up. Cedric especially since he'd have never been able to prepare for the first task if Ryuu hadn't passed him a note telling him they would be facing dragons.

At the ball, they'd once again underestimated the younger teen; fully expecting him to be nervous and make a mess of the opening dance because he was too young to handle the attention of being center stage. Having played in the academy's orchestra for three summers had long since numbed Ryuu to stage fright though and with his attention entirely focused on his date; he never even really noticed just how many people were watching him. It had therefore been a shock to see the normally calm and collected fourteen year old practically panicking over the second task.

They thought it was just nerves because most of the spells that would help him in the task were far above his level. He proved them wrong again when they found he'd been the first champion to reach the treasure they had been sent to retrieve. Seeing him bleeding all over the platform, they had to wonder if the kid was some kind of seer and if he'd been afraid because he'd seen whatever it was that had ended up with him on the brink of death. It was the only explanation that made any sense to them since he hadn't displayed anything other than calm indifference once he'd gotten over his name coming out of the goblet.

It took over forty-five minutes for Madam Pomfrey to stop the bleeding; the trident wounds being resistant to magical healing due to the poison the merfolk coated the spear points with. The only good news had been the fact that the poison didn't affect Ryuu due to the basilisk venom and phoenix tears that were in his blood. Ryuu had woken up after the first twenty minutes and nearly stabbed the healer with his knife because he'd thought he'd still been under attack. Luckily, Hatake had been helping the healer and he'd been able to take the knife from the confused and panicked teen without too much trouble.

"Can you tell us what happened, Natsume-kun," Headmaster Yamamoto inquired when he noticed the teen was conscious.

Ryuu looked up at the older wizard with haunted eyes as he signed, _They wanted my blood, shishou; they meant to sacrifice me to their gods in retribution for what my grandmother stole from them._

"What do you mean?" Yamamoto demanded with a frown.

Ryuu shook his head and closed his eyes as he dropped his head back onto the platform. There was nothing more he could tell the man without violating the promise he'd given to his father the day Takashi had given him half of the Yujincho. The Yujincho was the one book that Ryuu owned that he never read through or even took out. The Book of Friends was not a story book… it was a book of contracts containing the names of the youkai Natsume Reiko had come across throughout her lifetime.

Those youkai whose names were in that book were bound to obey whoever owned said book. And that book was one of the reasons that the youkai often sought out both Ryuu and his father. The youkai either wanted the book so they would have control of the youkai whose names were bound to the Yujincho or they wanted their name back.

The youkai often got violent when they didn't get what they wanted and when Ryuu had been younger they had hunted him endlessly for the book and for the spiritual power he had inherited from his grandmother. The demons that had been twisted by the dark magic that clung to most of Britain sought him out and often sought to harm him in their efforts to take what they thought of as theirs. They'd screamed, cried, and begged for his blood, his heart, his eyes, or worse and they'd terrified Ryuu for many, many years.

The fact that he could not hide his spiritual power like he could his magic meant that the youkai could sense him wherever he went. Ryuu found the magical youkai he'd encountered since returning to the British Isles were far worse than the normal youkai; the corrupted dark magic twisting their souls even further as it resonated with the magic and spiritual energy they possessed. A few examples would be the poltergeist Ryuu had sealed in his first year, the pixies that had attacked him in his second year, and now the mermaids.

Once Ryuu's leg had been securely bandaged after Madam Pomfrey stopped the bleeding, Ryuu was helped to his feet and given a pair of crutches that Professor Dumbledore had transfigured out of Ryuu's ruined pant leg. He was then asked to join his fellow champions so they could be given their scores for the second task and their instructions pertaining to the third task. He was a bit surprised when all three of the older champions asked him if he was alright; it was the nicest they'd been to him (not counting when Cedric repaid Ryuu for the information about the dragons by giving the younger teen a hint about the egg).

This time Ryuu ended up with the lowest score because he'd been the last one to return (through no fault of his own), he'd been well outside of the one hour time limit, and he'd had been retrieved by Madara (not that anyone knew who'd brought the teen to shore) instead of returning under his own power. A number of people booed Maxime, Karkaroff, and Crouch for giving him scores below five while Dumbledore and Yamamoto had given him sevens (he had been the first to find the treasure and had showed initiative in trading stones for the merchild's help), and Bagman had given him an eight. The other three champions had averaged sevens and eights from all of the judges. He was still in second place as far as points went though, with Fleur taking first since she'd been the second one to reach the treasure in the ruins.

"The tournament is now officially half way over; only two more tasks remaining," Bagman announced grandiosely once the scores had been handed out. "The third task you will face is a Trial by Combat. When you chose your treasure boxes, you also chose the type of battle that you will be facing; magic, wit, archery, or staff. A hint of who you will be facing and what you will be fighting for is contained inside of your boxes. You will have just under two months to prepare for your battle as the third task will be taking place on Saturday, March twenty-fifth. Good luck!"

Ryuu stared at the box in his hands in disgust and was half tempted to throw it back in the lake; not because he'd apparently be facing an opponent in hand to hand combat (armed with just a staff) but because he was sick of the tournament. He hadn't even wanted to be one of the champions in the first place. Shoving the gold box back into his bag, Ryuu slowly began making his way to the castle; his familiars flying above him or trotting on his heels.

He was met halfway by his father, who swept him up into his arms and apologized for not anticipating how the merfolk would react to his presence in the water. His father barely set him back down on his feet when his mother pulled him into a hug, Kenji having been passed to his father the moment he'd let go of Ryuu. Luna's arms soon replaced his mother arms as the dainty blonde clung to him desperately. Ryuu dropped his crutches to hold her close, guilt filling him over the fact that he'd made her cry yet again.

This time there was no angry slap followed by a desperate kiss; she simply held him tightly as they stood there surrounded by friends and family. The flash of a camera going off had Takashi bearing down on Rita Skeeter and the sleazy photographer that always followed her around; he told them both in no uncertain terms that if the pictures they'd just taken ever made the light of day he'd see them in prison for exploiting children. Skeeter tried to claim Harry Potter was a public figure and therefore fair game but Takashi was having none of it and promised that Bongledash would be looking for even a hint of a picture being leaked.

Dropping his lawyer's name effectively saw Takashi being given the roll of film with the pictures on it (Sander Bongledash's reputation having soared in the past year since he'd taken on the Malfoy versus Natsume and Sirius Black versus the Ministry cases and won). It wouldn't stop Skeeter from printing a series of venomous articles about Takashi and how he'd corrupted the Boy-Who-Lived but Takashi was just happy to spare his son's personal life and reputation from being raked through the mud by the morally corrupt reporter.

After watching the miffed reporter retreat in anger, Takashi returned to the group surrounding his son just as Luna finally released Ryuu. Ryuu kept hold of Luna's hand as his other friends came up to hug him or slap him on the back, all of them relieved that he'd pulled through yet another mishap.

It would take two weeks for Ryuu's leg to heal enough to support his full weight (the poison making the wounds resistant to all forms of magical healing). During that time he spent most of his morning training periods in physical therapy to strengthen the weakened leg. There was a slight break on Valentine's Day, when Ryuu took Luna to Hogsmeade on their second official date and spent the day wandering through the shops and drinking butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks.

Ryuu had purchased a small bouquet with one pink rose, one white rose, a cloud of baby's breath, two ferns, and a couple pink and white moonflowers. He also bought her some freshly made fudge from Honeydukes and the two of them had shared the still warm treat while they walked. And though they held hands all through the date and even exchanged a few innocent kisses with each other they both avoided talking about whatever it was they had between them, though Ryuu had come close once or twice during their date.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Chikushou – damndamn it  
>Gaki – brat<br>Oji – uncle  
>Shishou – master<p>

**Notes: **

* This riddle/song was based upon Rowling's original egg song but parts of it were rewritten and reworded so that it fit my version of the second task.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And that's the second task done… with Ryuu once again facing his inner and outer demons; though this time he was once more at a disadvantage and facing far more than he usually does. The confrontation also serves to show that even though he is still frightened by the youkai on some levels, he is no longer as crippled by that fear as he had been when he was younger. He also recovered (emotionally) from the ordeal much faster as he'd not hidden himself away immediately after it was over; something that his date with Luna reflected (I think). _

_Props to Ethorin, who was kind enough to remind me that the rune story I mentioned in the past couple of chapters was RuneMaster by Tigerman; a rather epic story I recommend reading. It's very well written, highly entertaining, and COMPLETE! The last point an important point in all good stories. Next chapter will have the third task (which was the task added into the Tournament by Yamamoto to account for Ryuu's presence in the Tournament). _

_Until then, I'd like to thank all of my readers and reviewers and offer up some virtual donuts as I'm all out of cakes and pies at the moment. Or, I have home made bean dip, freshly made salsa, and chips if you aren't interested in sweets. I'd share the nachos I made but well… those are mine. lol. ~ Jenn…_


	35. Third Task – Trial by Combat

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 34: Third Task – Trial by Combat<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>March 1995 ~ May 1995<em>

At the end of those first two weeks, Ryuu finally opened the gold box to find another riddle inside along with what appeared to be a name though he wasn't certain. This riddle was at least a little more straight forward than the previous one but it still left Ryuu feeling worried, angry, and off balance when he thought he'd solve it.

_Come face me in our domain beneath the canopies green.  
>Where the grasses grow freely beneath the sun's noon light,<br>In the shadows I stand ready to test your strength.  
>To win free your heart's desire you must beat me at my game.<em>

_Bane_

The canopies green could only refer to the Forbidden Forest while the only place where grass grows freely in the forest would be in a clearing. His opponent would be waiting beneath the trees in the shadows and he would have to fight him in order to get what ever it is that he will have that Ryuu supposedly wanted. Ryuu already knew he'd be facing his opponent in hand to hand combat of a sort (the only weapon allowed his staff) which meant that his opponent had to at least have hands in which to hold the staff.

So he would be facing a wizard (or witch), a werewolf (untransformed since the battle would take place at noon), or a centaur; those were the only three beings he could think of that would make the forest their home that could possibly handle a staff (or use magic, be intelligent enough to fight with their wits, or fire an arrow based upon the other forms of combat). That archery was one of the battles/contests offered hinted strongly at the centaurs being the ones they would face which would be no easy task; for any of them.

That he would have to fight to free his heart's desire was what worried and angered him the most. He originally thought what he wanted most was for the world to forget he existed, to have been able to stay in Japan with his family, or to never have been entered in this stupid tournament but how could they take something intangible and lock it up? That led him to the conclusion that someone was going to take something from him but he didn't think he owned anything that was that important to him.

That led to the realization that in order to 'free' whatever it was they thought he wanted that some_thing_ would actually have to be some_one_ and that meant that they would be targeting his family and his familiars; which is why he was angry. If they dared to take one of his familiars or dared harm a single hair of his family there'd be hell to pay and he'd teach them a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.

Ryuu took his growing anger and worry out in his training sessions once Madam Pomfrey had pronounced the wounds on his leg fully healed; with admonishments not to open them back up again. Once he'd told his adopted uncle that he would most likely be facing a centaur, Hatake had created a training dummy in the image of a centaur and bumped the difficulty level up to ten in order to make the fight more realistic. Ryuu then sparred against the new dummy twice a day; once in the morning before classes and once in the afternoon after most of his classes were finished. In his free time, he researched everything that the library had on centaurs; specifically any weaknesses they had that could be exploited.

He practiced with both his hanbo and his bo, occasionally using both in the course of a single spar in the event he lost whichever one he started with at some point in the fight. He already knew he'd have to watch out for the centaur's hooves as like horses (which the resembled to a point) they were prone to kicking and a centaur was strong enough to break bones if he kicked him hard enough. In the beginning, when he first started sparring against the new training dummy, Ryuu would end up black and blue within the first five minutes. After each session, Hatake would sit him down and they'd discuss what he did wrong, what he did well, and what he could do better before he was made to do a series of exercises meant to increase his speed and strength.

It was brutal training but by the time the day of the third task arrived Ryuu had improved dramatically and he'd developed an even higher tolerance for pain. He'd also refined his strategy enough that he could fight the dummy for a good thirty to forty-five minutes before he grew tired enough to start making mistakes that ended up with him earning bruises left and right. He'd also been forced to relearn how to fight without calling on his magic since that would automatically disqualify him during the battle; that meant he couldn't even use it to enhance his senses like he often did when sparring with multiple dummies earlier in the year.

On the morning of the task, Ryuu woke up feeling much more confident than he had the day of the second task though he was still trying to figure out who they would take as hostage. The first thing he made certain of was that his three familiars were still by his side. Next he rushed in to check on his little brother; the three month old baby unable to defend himself. His parents were also both present so he relaxed marginally thinking maybe he'd misjudged what they'd be taking from him. He got a little concerned about his uncle but knew the wizard could protect himself if they'd tried taking him.

He'd gotten dressed after that, putting on his only remaining silk uniform (his other one having been ruined at the end of the second task), and leaving everything but his wands and staves behind. He may not be able to use his wands in the coming fight but that didn't mean he was going to be leaving them very far behind. He then headed to breakfast where he searched out his friends only to find them looking solemn and nervous. A quick search of the familiar faces made Ryuu's heart freeze when he immediately realized who was missing and he fairly oozed fury when he stalked up to Satoshi and demanded to know where he would find Luna.

"They came for her this morning, Ryuu-kun," Satoshi softly revealed, his hands gently soothing the depressed Himiko who'd been left behind. "They came for all four of them; one hostage for each champion."

Clarity hit Ryuu in that moment and he finally saw what the rest of the students and staff had been seeing all year long; he cared deeply for Luna. She had become his light, his center, and if they harmed a single hair on her head they were going to die. The coming battle had just become personal and the person who thought it a good idea to take Luna, little Luna who still couldn't protect herself that well, would feel his wraith if she was in any way harmed. The officials who had been watching the scene from the staff table shivered and cringed when they saw the look of pure fury the fourth champion directed their way before he stalked out of the Great Hall without eating; a riled dragon intent on violence.

They didn't find Ryuu until it was nearly time to start the third task. He'd immediately gone outside and taken up a vigil just outside of the forest; his burning emerald eyes focused intently on the dark shadows that clung to the air and ground beneath and between the trees. He'd barely managed to restrain himself from heading into the forest early on a rampage in order to get Luna back; task be damned. Instead he'd used the time to properly stretch and loosen up his muscles while he slipped into a half trance to practice his animagus transformation in an effort to center his emotions and burn up the magic he could feel singing out for violence in his blood.

When his fellow champions joined him they all appeared just as grim as Ryuu, though none of them were quite as furious. They made a few overtures to start a conversation with him but none of them understood sign language and Ryuu hadn't bothered bringing his whiteboard and marker. It was at that point that the two foreign champions finally realized that Ryuu couldn't speak as it was the first time they truly tried to speak with him (as opposed to insulting him) aside from right after the second task when his silent nods and head shakes had been taken as a response to the shock and pain. Sure, they'd heard rumors but hadn't quite known what to believe about the fourteen year old boy hero.

Bagman's perpetually cheerful demeanor nearly broke under the glare Ryuu leveled at the former Quidditch player when the wizard came to lead the champions into the forest to the clearing where they'd be facing their opponents. They were also informed that the order of their fights had been based upon their current point standing, with Viktor going first as he was currently in last place, followed by Cedric who only had a few points on the Durmstrang champion, then by Ryuu, and finally by Fleur who was currently in first place with six more points than Ryuu. When they arrived at the clearing, they could see the huge stands that had been set up some time after the second task and hear the murmurings of the crowd in anticipation for the coming challenges.

On one end of the clearing there were about a dozen targets set up while on the other there were several sturdy bows and two buckets filled with arrows. Viktor, after being announced by Bagman, stepped out into the clearing and headed for the bows and arrows where he was soon joined by a tall, red-haired and chestnut furred centaur named Ronan. Two more centaurs appeared on the side of the clearing furthest from where the remaining champions waited and Viktor sent them a surly glare when he caught sight of the young woman being held captive by the two centaurs. Viktor and Ronan traded a few insults and taunts that were more good-natured than hostile though it was clear that the famous seeker was more than a bit upset about the girl being taken.

Over the next twenty minutes, Viktor and the red centaur fired arrow after arrow at half of the targets across the clearing. It was apparent that Viktor was good but not quite as good as the centaur he was facing and in the end the Bulgarian failed to win the competition. The young witch was led off by the centaurs while Viktor was held back by Ronan when he tried to follow. Viktor's points were awarded but the wizard paid no mind to them as he stalked out of the clearing and began punching the nearest tree; obviously more than a little upset over his loss and worried about what would happen to the young witch (who Ryuu would later find out was the seeker's girlfriend). Several centaurs entered the clearing a moment later and removed both the targets and the spent arrows in order to prepare the field for the next contest.

Cedric looked more than a little pale after Viktor's loss as the Hufflepuff stepped out into the center of the clearing when Bagman called his name. He would be facing Firenze, a palomino centaur with pale blonde hair and blue eyes. Their contest would last more than an hour as the two of them traded riddles back and forth until Cedric was unable to answer the final riddle. It had been an intense contest despite the lack of physical exertion and the sixth year had clenched his fists in self anger as he watched his girlfriend, Cho Chang, being led back to wherever the captives were being held.

When Ryuu's name was finally called, he stalked into the clearing with deadly grace with Shinjin sitting on his shoulder (Shogun and Tenji had been left with his parents earlier that morning). The centaur that joined him a moment later was black in body and hair, his eyes hostile and full of promised pain as he sneered at Ryuu. Before their battle began, Ryuu removed his wand holsters and passed them to Shinjin before ordering the phoenix away with a soft whistle; a calculated move to prove that he would not attempt to cheat.

He flicked his eyes to the edge of the clearing where two centaurs appeared with Luna standing serenely between them with her cloud of tiny fairies dancing about her hair as she smiled at Ryuu. Ryuu stared intently at her for a full minute before turning around and snarling soundlessly at Bane, his opponent, his rage far from soothed by the apparently unharmed and quite happy presence of Luna.

"I will enjoy beating you into submission, human," Bane spat gleefully as he pulled his staff free from his back.

Ryuu pulled his bo free and spat on the ground as he settled lightly on the balls of his feet in preparation. His eyes dancing with anger and determination and he silently waited for the signal to start.

"Have you nothing to say, boy? No last words for your two legged mare? I will personally enjoy taking her as my slave after I've shown her exactly how weak and pathetic you are," Bane taunted as he reared up on his hind legs and kicked out at the air with his front legs.

Ryuu's response was a narrowing of his eyes, their green depths silently promising pain, as he lifted on hand and drew it slowly across his neck; he was promising death. That seemed to anger the centaur as he roared out a wordless battle cry and charged forward intending to bash Ryuu in the head. Ryuu waited until the last possible second before ducking out of the way and slamming the butt end of his bo into the centaur's human stomach. He then fell into a rolling dive that took him out of range of the hoof that had lashed out at him in retaliation. He made it back to his feet just in time to block the next blow with his staff and he barred his teeth at the centaur as he jumped backwards to once again avoid the striking hoof.

The next twenty-five minutes were filled with the loud ringing clacks of staff hitting staff as the two of them sought an opening. Ryuu had twice more managed to land a hit on the centaur, once on the front left knee and once across the rump. He hadn't completely escaped without taking his own hits either, as Bane had caught him across the back once, on the left side twice, and managed to stomp on his foot right after Ryuu's staff had connected with the black centaur's hind quarters.

He'd also switched from bo to hanbo after the longer staff had been cracked by a particularly heavy blow; the wood separating from the steel core along more than three quarters of the staff. The one thing in Ryuu's favor was Bane's temper; the longer Ryuu ignored his jibes and taunts the angrier the centaur became. That also worked against him to a point though, because it meant that the centaur was putting more effort into his strikes and Ryuu's arms were aching from each jarring block.

Ryuu lost his second staff shortly after that when his arms went numb from a particularly harsh blow. Bane then caught him in a crushing hug and lifted him up off the ground, the centaur's staff digging deeply into his spine as he grinned triumphantly, convinced he'd just won the fight. Ryuu was far from finished and had no intentions of giving up as he lashed out with his booted feet kicking the centaur at the point where his human torso rose up from the horses body (the most vulnerable point on a centaur) several times in a row. Bane gasped and loosened his grip marginally which allowed Ryuu to pull his hands up and punch bane in the face, breaking the centaur's nose.

Ryuu and the staff dropped backwards as the centaur dropped everything and reached up to grab his nose instinctively and Ryuu commandeered the heavy centaur staff as his feet touched on the ground. Bracing his arms, Ryuu swung the staff and caught the centaur flat across the connection point between horse and man before he struck out at Bane's knees; effectively dropping the much taller and heavier centaur down onto his front knees. Ryuu then scrambled up onto the centaur's back and snapped the staff over the front of the centaur's throat over top of both his arms as he curled his forearms over the top of the staff and back around to grasp the back of the centaur's head; trapping the centaur in a choke hold.

Bane clambered back up onto his feet and Ryuu knew he could lose his hold if the centaur started bucking and rearing so he pulled the staff tighter as he wrapped his legs around the centaur's human torso. Ten minutes… that is how long the centaur roared, cursed, reared, bucked, and thrashed around as he fought to break Ryuu's strangle hold. Finally the centaur crashed down to his knees a second time, his strength rapidly fleeing due to the slow strangulation and Ryuu rode him down until the last possible moment before jumping free as the centaur slumped sideways.

The fourteen year old then dropped Bane's staff and reclaimed both of his own (returning the ruined bo to his back) before turning towards the two stunned guards standing on either side of Luna. Eyes blazing and breathing labored, Ryuu limped towards the two centaurs, intent on fighting them as well should they attempt to keep him from Luna.

The centaur on the right, a young male, nervously pushed Luna forward as he backed away, his arms held up in a non-threatening gesture. Ryuu paused and tilted his head to one side before slowly nodding and slipping his shorter staff back into its sheath on his back as he reached out a hand to Luna. The moment her hand slipped into his, he pulled her close and ran his free hand down the side of her face as he searched her eyes intently; searching desperately for any sign that she'd been harmed in any way while she'd been gone for much of the morning.

He then slipped his hand around the back of her head and threaded his fingers through her hair as he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Unlike the other tentative and fleeting kisses they shared, this kiss was anything but gentle and tender as he clumsily ravished her mouth with his; pouring everything he felt for her into that kiss (his inexperience apparent even if it was ignored). When her knees buckled he caught her with his arm and pulled her closer without breaking the kiss using her soft gasp to deepen the kiss further. The insistent tapping on his shoulder had Ryuu reluctantly breaking the kiss and he pressed his forehead against Luna's as he gazed down at her flushed face before he glared over his shoulder to find out who'd dared interrupted them.

"There's still one more battle left to go and they need you to clear the field, young foal," Firenze, the centaur that had faced Cedric, declared as he gestured to where Bane was being carried into the forest by four centaurs; the black stallion still unconscious.

Ryuu nodded and scooped Luna up into his arms as she wrapped her arms around his neck and tucked her face into the crook of his neck. He'd nearly reached the edge of the clearing when the palomino centaur called out to him once more.

"Beware… child of darkness… the wounded viper hunts you and seeks your blood for strength and power, should you turn from the moon's light you will be lost to the shadows. Mars steadily grows brighter and war looms near."

Ryuu tilted his head to one side before he nodded slowly and bowed to the centaur, careful not to spill Luna onto the clearing floor before he turned and walked away, his owl and his phoenix dropping down from the sky as he returned to where the other champions waited. He nodded his thanks to Cedric and Viktor when the two older teens congratulated him on a battle well fought before he sat down at the base of a large oak and settled Luna onto his lap. He cradled her close, pressing his face against her neck and drinking in her scent of ginger, nutmeg, and radishes as he finally allowed most of his fury fade. He almost didn't look up when Bagman announced the final competitor but he needed to know what Fleur was capable of least he end up facing her during the final task.

The young French witch was facing an older centaur whose coat and hair had long since gone gray and white with age. Ryuu hadn't caught the centaur's name but it was clear he was some sort of shaman as he held a gnarled staff that stood a foot taller than him and strung with feathers in one hand. Around the centaur's neck hung a pan flute that was obviously hand made as it was a little cruder than the one Ryuu had been given just prior to his first year at Hogwarts. The centaur bowed to Fleur and brought the flute to his mouth to weave an illusion around the young witch while Fleur just watched him impassively, her wand held firmly in one hand.

What happened next baffled Ryuu a bit, as the centaur's song slowly faltered and his illusion shattered while Fleur just stood there seemingly radiating sunlight. The centaur then began courting the young witch, promising all kinds of impossible feats of daring and hidden treasures if only she'd just promise him her hand. The audience began stirring as well, the wizards in particular growing antsy as they too began calling out promises to the witch. When the aged centaur bowed down on his knees before Fleur, she finally lifted her wand and bound him in ropes before her aura of beauty and desirability suddenly vanished and the centaur started in surprise to find he'd been caught.

"She used her allure to trap his mind," Luna murmured from Ryuu's lap. "Centaurs are particularly susceptible to a veela's allure because their magic is so nature oriented and love based magic is always in harmony with nature. Even Fleur's weak allure, as a quarter veela, is able to bend the centaur's mind and heart to her. I… you did not wish to seek her favor just now? No interest in kissing an older, more beautiful witch?" As she asked the last question she turned to look up at Ryuu with hopeful and worried eyes.

_Why would I be interested in chasing after the sun when I hold the moon in my arms? There is no other witch who could compare to you, Luna,_ Ryuu signed solemnly as his eyes met and held hers. _I felt as if my heart had been ripped from my chest when Satoshi-kun told me they had taken you this morning. I would have fought the entire herd of centaurs with my bare hands to get you back. If they had hurt you… if they had dared harmed you… I'd have made them pay for your pain tenfold. _

"Yet… you do not wish for me to be your girlfriend," Luna sadly stated as she slowly pulled away from him.

_Don't… just don't… _ Ryuu cut in as he pulled her back against him with one arm. _Don't put words in my mouth; especially when there is no truth in them. I may not have realized just how much I've come to care for you until this morning but that doesn't mean the thought of asking you to be my girlfriend didn't cross my mind a time or two. Call me a coward but I was afraid of losing you as a friend if I asked you; that I'd chase you off if I let you know I thought of you that way when we're together._

"Oh, my silly Dragon… you can't chase me off that easily… I've just been waiting for you to admit that I was right all along and declare me yours before carrying me off to be ravished," Luna declared with a laugh that was half amusement and half exasperation.

_Always your dragon… for as long as you wish I am yours to command,_ Ryuu swore as he once more swooped down to press his lips on hers; the kiss tender and full of promise.

"Is that your way of asking me to be your girlfriend?" Luna demanded breathily when they pulled apart.

Ryuu grinned devilishly as he told her, _Don't you know? Dragons don't ask… they simply take what they want_, before he ravished her lips once more as he pulled her even closer and buried his hands in her hair. When he pulled back a moment later he smiled softly at her flushed face and glazed eyes before he nuzzled her neck and kissed her ear. He then pulled back and gently added, _But for you, I would humbly ask for the honor of being your boyfriend._

Luna squealed out several yeses in a row before she ravished Ryuu in turn, showering his face with kisses before she finally claimed his lips. The two of them were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't notice the audience leaving the stands or the group of officials bearing down on the champions as they stood off to one side. Ryuu didn't even notice the happy reunions between Viktor and Cedric and their respective girlfriends as he was far too caught up in the witch on his lap.

The glare Ryuu sent Bagman when the man dared to interrupt them sent the former Quidditch player stumbling back in haste even as he told Ryuu that he needed to join the other champions so they could hear the instructions for the final task. Ryuu huffed silently while Luna giggled over his antics as the two of them reluctantly climbed to their feet. When Bagman had the audacity to tell him that Luna wouldn't be able to listen in, Ryuu narrowed his eyes and lifted his chin stubbornly as he pulled Luna tightly against his side, his silent message crystal clear; he would go no where without his girlfriend at his side. Bagman's protest died on his lips when Shinjin spread her wings and hissed menacingly at the man; the phoenix still irritated from Ryuu's lingering anger over Luna being taken that morning.

Ryuu calmed the young phoenix before he slipped his wands free of her talons and replaced them inside his sleeves as he and Luna joined the others. Unknown to Ryuu, his possessiveness of his new girlfriend amused the three older teens and they each turned away to hide the smiles on their faces. His behavior didn't go unnoticed by his Headmasters either, though they had far more practice in schooling their faces to hide their pleased amusement.

"Yes… congratulations to our two champions who won their challenges," Bagman stated once he'd regained his composure. "Your fourth and final task will be taking place on the first Saturday in June, which is the third. Details on what you will be facing during the task will be given to you sometime around the middle of May. Sometime in the week leading up to the task we'll be holding a press conference and photo shoot for publicity and all of you will be required to provide a short biography for the piece."

The moment they were dismissed, Ryuu started leading Luna out of the forest; his hanbo once more in one hand and Luna's hand in his other. He didn't quite trust the tournament officials at the moment since they were ultimately responsible for Luna being in danger (though she'd never truly been at risk). Still, the words of the riddle had hinted that failure would cost their hostage their freedom and Bane's taunts had hit a little too close to home though he'd done his best to ignore them at the time. They were ambushed at the edge of the forest by their friends and Ryuu's family. Their friends were chittering and crowing excitably about Ryuu's fast and furious one on one battle with his centaur while the adults watched Ryuu with amusement and concern.

"Ryuu-kun, how bad are your injuries? I know you took a few serious hits to your back and side," Hatake asked once the teens had settled down a bit.

_I think he broke my right foot when he stomped on it,_ Ryuu confessed after he silently took stock of the pain he was just now beginning to feel (his anger and adrenalin no longer numbing him). _Maybe a cracked rib or two but for the most part I think he just bruised me. Stupid mule hit harder than the training dummy._ There were a few choked snorts over Ryuu calling the centaur a mule (a serious insult to a centaur) as Ryuu pensively stared at the ground for a moment before glancing up to his father and asking, _Tousan? The pale centaur called me the child of darkness… what did he mean? He said something about a viper, the light, and war too._

"What exactly did he say?" Takashi asked tensely as he frowned down at Ryuu.

"_Beware… child of darkness… the wounded viper hunts you and seeks your blood for strength and power, should you turn from the moon's light you will be lost to the shadows. Mars steadily grows brighter and war looms near,_" Luna intoned in an almost creepy tone as she mimicked the centaur's earlier cadence flawlessly when Ryuu hesitated in answering.

Takashi paled and abruptly turned around and disappeared into the forest, Nyanko-sensei hot on his heels. Ryuu made to follow his father only for Satoshi and Luna to hold him back. He tried to shake them off only for Hatake to block his way.

"Ryuu-kun stop… your father knows what he's doing and he is not alone, Neko-chan will protect him from the rest of the forest. If I had to guess, your father wishes to speak with the centaur to find out what else he knows," Hatake bluntly stated. "In the mean time, you need to get your injuries looked after." Ryuu just glared up at his uncle, not budging in the least. "That was an order… not a suggestion, Natsume," Hatake growled when Ryuu remained defiant.

_Wakatta, Hatake-sensei,_ Ryuu snapped back before he bowed stiffly and stalked away as best he could with the growing pain in his foot and his two friends holding onto him, the rest of their friends following after them. A moment later the silvery Neko-chan patronus reappeared from wherever it had vanished to during Ryuu's match.

"He's just worried about Takashi," Taki murmured as she shifted her youngest son to her other arm and glanced at the now depressed gray-haired wizard out of the corner of her eye. "He's heard of the dangers lurking inside of the Forbidden Forest for the last four years and Dumbledore-shishou constantly warns them to stay clear of the forest. It is only natural for him to worry about his father in the face of giant spiders, werewolves, flesh eating slugs, territorial centaurs, and who knows what else. And don't forget he's still angry about Luna-chan being taken as his hostage as well. He may not have confronted Dumbledore and Yamamoto just yet but you can bet he will have a thing or two to say to them for their involvement in her short stint in captivity; no matter how willingly she'd gone at the time."

"Oh, I am well aware of his reasons… I just wish he'd be a bit more accepting of his own limits, I could easily see how much pain he was in even if he wasn't allowing his mind to fully listen to what his body was telling him," Hatake countered. "The increase in his level of tolerance for pain over the past two months was not really a good thing when you consider just how much that boy pushes himself. His self control is better but that temper of his is going to keep getting him into trouble."

"And this year his fuse has been shorter than normal because of the stress of the tournament," Taki admitted sadly. "I know everything that has been happening has Takashi worried sick about Ryuu-kun as well. They are both so stressed out it worries me. They depend upon each other so much that if one of them were to break under the stress, the other would surely break shortly after as well. I owe you a debt of gratitude for everything you have done for my husband and our son; I honestly don't think either of them would have survived this long if not for you."

"I envy you and your husband," Hatake replied as he continued to watch after the disappearing teen. "Ryuu is everything a man could wish for in a son; he's intelligent, talented, hard working, loyal, mostly respectful, and usually obedient. He's also hard headed and strong enough to hold his own in a battle of wills. I never regretted my solitary existence until after I met Ryuu and really got to know him; he brings out the paternal instinct I never imagined existed inside of me and really hate taking the sidelines."

"And I envy you for your connection to my son," Takashi announced as he slipped out of he forest, a little dirty but otherwise unharmed. "Like my son, you were born with the ability to use magic and as he grows older that magic pulls him a little further away from us and we can't really follow no matter how hard we try. You are now the first one he runs to when something is troubling him, it is you he runs to for advice when he is stuck, and it is you who he seeks to make proud."

"You both are idiots," Taki declared imperiously. "He loves you both and you both play a very important part in his life and neither of you could ever take the place of the other in his eyes. Ryuu looks to make you both proud, he seeks advice from both of you for different needs, and seeks to follow in both of your footsteps; struggling to balance between both worlds because he refuses to choose between you." The irritated red head then stalked off with Kenji in arm while the two men watched after her with confused expressions.

"I wonder what we said to upset her," Hatake mused as he scratched the back of his head.

"I'd say something about hormone imbalance but then I'd probably be sleeping on the couch for the next year," Takashi murmured with a slight smile. "Do you think she's right? That Ryuu is struggling to fit into both worlds?"

"No… yes… maybe," Hatake unhelpfully answered before he slowly continued, his words carefully measured as he considered what he wanted to say before actually saying it out loud. "I think he's struggling to find his place but not because he's been balanced between the magical world and non-magical world. He is aware of his differences, in both worlds, and he struggles to accept that he isn't just an average wizard or a typical teenage boy." Hatake then turned to study Takashi before asking, "Did you get what you went looking for?"

"Yes and no…" Takashi replied as he glanced up at the sinking afternoon sun. "Yes, I found the centaur; he was waiting for me as if he expected me to seek him out. No, I didn't get the answers I went searching for because the centaur spoke in nothing but riddles."

"And…?"

Takashi sighed as he glanced towards the castle before he recited the words of the centaur in a dead voice that hinted at the younger man's inner turmoil and frustration.

_That which led you to the dark child is no longer valid; prophecy is not static. _

_The wounded viper will strike from within the shadows; a trap within a trap.  
>That which was lost will be found in the depths of darkness and despair.<br>The twin burden of chaos and change sharpens the sight in the light of the moon.  
>The souls of those bound to the book bathed in shadows will be cleansed by the fires of rage.<em>

_When blood is spilt in the house of the dead; the wounded viper will rise again.  
>The flames of rage will give rise to the dragon hidden within the child of darkness.<br>The sons of chaos and change bound to the child of darkness hone the dragon's rage.  
>The world will be washed in the blood of innocents should the dragon falter and fail.<em>

_Destiny will not wait for the child of darkness to become a man; fate is not static. _

"Lovely… another prophecy," Hatake deadpanned as he closed his mismatched eyes and tilted his head back so that his face was bathed by the fading afternoon light. "I need a drink… preferably something with more bite than pumpkin juice or hot chocolate."

"I have some sake in my quarters," Takashi murmured softly, his voice now tired and resigned. "I'll grab a couple of bottles and my grandmother's journal; you grab a bottle of Firewhiskey, a couple of cups, and a hangover potion or two and I will meet you in your quarters in an hour; two at the most. I have a son to reassure, a wife to appease, a baby to cuddle, and a cat to lose."

"_Natsume no baka! You can't lose me that easily! And you know those are my bottles of sake!_" Nyanko spat angrily in Japanese as he crawled out from the underbrush that grew around the edge of the forest.

Takashi ignored the youkai as he and Hatake headed towards the castle and went their separate ways. Takashi heading up to the infirmary to see if his son had been treated yet while Hatake went to the kitchen to seek the aide of an elf in obtaining the alcohol and potions they'd be needing later that night.

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><p>Ryuu was sitting in one of the hospital beds with his bare right foot propped up on several pillows and his shirt off with his friends seated on the beds to either side of the one Ryuu occupied when Takashi walked into the Hospital Wing ten minutes later. Takashi stopped as he took in the vivid bruises that covered Ryuu's foot and ankle, his entire left side, and his lower back; evidence that the centaur had in way gone easy on the fourteen year old during their battle (that wasn't even taking into consideration the fading bruises from the past two months of training that Ryuu had undergone in preparation for the task).<p>

Madam Pomfrey was currently waving her wand over Ryuu's foot and ankle, healing the broken bones in his foot and reducing the swelling. The grimace on Ryuu's face let Takashi know that the processes was probably more painful than getting the foot stepped on in the first place; if only because he had no adrenalin rushing through his veins to dull the pain.

"You know… that looks a little more than just the bruise or two you led me to believe you had," Takashi quipped dryly as he fought back his despair at seeing his son once again turned into a walking bruise.

_I didn't know it was this bad when you asked, tousan_, Ryuu countered with a roll of his eyes. _At least this time I won't be getting any new scars out of the deal._ The bitterness Ryuu still felt over the attack of the merfolk in the second task clearly visible in Ryuu's body language as he added that last bit.

"Any serious internal injuries I should know about so I can warn Hatake-sensei to take it easy on you for the next week or so?" Takashi asked instead of acknowledging the resentment his son still felt towards the merfolk.

"Eight broken bones in his right foot, two cracked ribs on his left side, some bruising and inflammation in the lumbar region of his spinal cord, and the bruising is far deeper then it looks," Madam Pomfrey rattled off as she finished with Ryuu's foot and wrapped it securely in gauze with a quick two flicks of her wand. "He's to stay completely off the foot for a week and then I want him in physical therapy, which means no physical training or rough housing, for two additional weeks after that. I'm worried about the damage done to his back; magic can't heal the spinal cord and if he further damages his spine he'll end up paralyzed."

"I will see to it Hatake-sensei is aware of the restrictions, Pomfrey-sama," Takashi promised as he gazed at his son in concern. "I have a few things to take care of, I will see you later tonight or tomorrow, Ryuu-kun, please try to take it easy and stop by and let your mother know you're still in one piece as soon as you are released."

Ryuu nodded and watched his father turn around and leave; guilt filling the teen as he read the weariness in his father's posture as he walked away. Ryuu closed his eyes and sat up straighter as Madam Pomfrey healed and wrapped his cracked ribs, extending the bandages down to his lower back so that they offered extra support for his bruised back and spine. He sighed softly as the gentle pressure of the bandages helped ease the ache he'd been feeling and willingly lay back on the bed when Madam Pomfrey ordered him to; for once not protesting her insistence that he spend the night in the infirmary.

He was then given a sleeping draught and a general pain reliever so he could get some rest without the pain interfering. His friends were shooed out shortly after that, with Luna giving Ryuu a chaste kiss and a promise to come see him first thing in the morning. Ryuu drifted off to sleep with a smile on his face, his thoughts centered on his new girlfriend.

The next three weeks sluggishly passed as Ryuu fought to keep from becoming impatient with the restrictions that Madam Pomfrey had placed on him; he knew his body needed time to heal. That didn't make it any easier for Ryuu to sit around doing practically nothing during that time. Not that he was doing absolutely nothing, since he was learning new spells in order to pass the time. Spells that may or may not come in handy during the final task; such as the Stunning Spell, several types of Blasting Spells and Curses, Shielding Charms, several protective charms which are slightly weaker than wards but just as useful in a pinch, the Confundus Charm, the Cushioning Charm, a couple of Detection Spells, a few basic first aide spells, and the Disillusionment Charm. Still, a magical workout was no where near as satisfying as a physical workout; especially after pushing himself so hard physically for most of the year.

His relationship with Luna helped keep him centered most days; her presence lighting up the room for Ryuu in the same way it always had only this time he recognized the feelings she evoked in him. On the surface, the way the two of them interacted never changed; they still occasionally held hands, stole a few chaste kisses, and still shared the occasional meal perched side by side or with Luna sitting on Ryuu's lap. The passion filled kisses they exchanged on the day of the task had been fueled by the desperation, rage, and relief Ryuu had felt at the time and while they'd both enjoyed those kisses they were content to continue taking things slowly.

Those who didn't know the couple very well never even noticed the shift in their relationship (aside from a bit of speculation over the meaning of the kiss Ryuu had given Luna after his fight with the centaur). Their friends however were quick to spot the subtle shift in their dynamics; the soft smiles they exchanged with each other, the way one or both of them would lightly blush when their eyes met, and the way Ryuu's eyes would light up when Luna walked into the room (as if he lived for her presence alone). Luna was also one of the few that could calm Ryuu with a glance or a touch when his temper flared; his parents, his uncle, and Satoshi being the other only other ones that didn't have to work too hard to calm the teen when he was riled.

April was half over by the time Ryuu was cleared to resume light physical training and the return to his familiar (if slightly restricted) routine helped dispel most of Ryuu's lingering frustration. The first week he resumed his training he wasn't allowed to work without a spotter, usually Satoshi or Hatake, watching him to make certain he didn't push himself too far too fast and that he wasn't experiencing any lingering pain which would indicate that his injuries hadn't fully healed.

After that week Hatake slowly brought him back up to his previous level over a two week period in everything but sparring. Sparring (except the occasional one on one match to test his returning strength) would wait until after the fourth and final task unless he learned the final task would involve something that would require hand to hand combat like the third task. Ryuu didn't mind being held back as much by that point; just happy to be able to tire himself out enough to sleep through the night without being visited by any nightmares that had been inspired by the Tournament.

Ryuu's classes were going fairly well; the extra time he'd had to study while he was recovering had even allowed him to get ahead in his high school assignments. Potions, which he was actually taking at the Japanese academy, was his most difficult subject currently; not because he was actually struggling with the class but because he'd needed to make up everything Snape had not taught in the first three years. Ryuu had always done outside research and studying to supplement what he gleaned from the assigned texts but that didn't mean he always knew where to find the information he needed or that he even knew everything he needed to know in order to properly brew any given potion.

He'd been even more frustrated over Snape's classroom behavior after learning just how much the bitter wizard had left out of his earlier lessons. Thankfully, Ryuu rarely ever saw the man over the course of the day; usually just at meal times and the caustic man studiously ignored him or kept his vitriol to nothing more than a glare that wished Ryuu untold pain. The lesson Ryuu had taught the man earlier stuck though and the man's mouth never opened in Ryuu's presence nor did his hand so much as twitch towards his wand. Snape was not a big fan of pain (unless he was the one causing it) and Ryuu had not been shy in dishing out pain that day he'd beat the tar out of him.

Around the end of the first week in May, at the end of his sixth week after the third task, Professor McGonagall tested Ryuu on his progress and declared him ready to move onto the final exercise. This time, it was the actual transformation he'd be working towards and he was prohibited from practicing unless in the presence of a fully qualified adult. The seven adults currently at Hogwarts who qualified were Dumbledore, Yamamoto, Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall, Hatake, Kimura, and Flitwick; and of those seven the only ones Ryuu was willing to practice in front of were McGonagall, Flitwick, and Kimura. Ryuu was still upset with both his Headmasters for their part in Luna's 'capture' though he'd never confronted them as his mother predicted he would, he had no wish to spend any more time in the Infirmary when there was no need, and he didn't want Hatake to know what form he'd chosen until he'd mastered the transformation.

The final exercise combined the two earlier exercises that McGonagall had given him the day after his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire plus the first exercise that had him mentally visualizing the transformation from human to animal and vice versa. He needed to saturate his entire body with magic (without allowing it to extend beyond his skin), enter the partial trance, and trigger the change by visualizing the transformation. The biggest two risks at this point were not pouring enough magic into the transformation or not spreading the magic evenly through out his body.

The first one meant that he stood the chance of becoming stuck halfway through the transformation while the second one meant that he ran the risk of not transforming a part of his body; both of which could easily be fatal. Ryuu's numerous years of controlling his magic wandlessly and wordlessly through Kimura's training, learning how to use his magic to enhance his awareness of his surroundings during his spars, and the years of meditation meant that he'd been able to grasp the concept of flooding his body and containing the magic inside of his body without allowing it to pool unevenly fairly quickly.

After three practice sessions with Kimura-sensei, Ryuu successfully completed his transformation and stood before his beaming tutor in all his furred glory. Satoshi and Luna, who'd come to watch, applauded with Luna gushing about how cute Dragon the Red Panda looked. With Ryuu's control, it only took another four sessions to prove that his technique was flawless (Satoshi called him a perfectionist when Kimura announced that) and the only thing he needed to work on was learning to hold the transformation for hours at a time and getting used to the slight disorientation that occurred when transforming back into his human self.

After that final fourth session, Kimura and McGonagall (who'd been observing those last four sessions) gave Ryuu his certificate of completion along with the Japanese Animagus Registration form (they'd decided to forgo registering in both countries to allow Ryuu some privacy regarding his form so his enemies would have a harder time learning he was an animagus).

The day after Ryuu mastered the transformation, Bagman led the four champions out to the Quidditch pitch where a huge maze was being grown. The final task would involve them facing an assortment of creatures, spells, magical plants, the clock, and potentially each other as they solved the maze to reach the center where the Tournament Trophy would be waiting for one of them to claim. They would be sent into the maze in order of their points, Fleur going first as she was still in first place with Ryuu going second, Cedric third, and Viktor last. The task would start at sunset on the third of June and they would be given until midnight to claim the trophy. If no one reached the center of the maze by the time the time limit passed, the one closest would be named champion and would be given half of the one thousand galleon prize.

Later that night, with the help of Kimura-sensei providing a distraction, Ryuu transformed in the kitchen of his parents' apartment while his parents, other friends, and Hatake sat in the living room chatting. Ryuu then snuck into the room and jumped up onto the couch behind Hatake and stuck his cold nose in the wizard's ear before leaping down onto the table and cheekily saluting his adopted uncle. Hermione and Kimi, much like Luna, gushed over how adorable Ryuu looked as a red panda while both his father and his uncle beamed proudly at him.

He then spent the next hour playing chase with Tenji and Nyanko-sensei; the wolf spirit completely fascinated with his ability to take on an animal vessel. He also curled up on his mother's lap for an hour and stared at Kenji who in turn cooed and giggled at him. The next lap he ended up in was Luna's and he actually drifted off to sleep with her petting him and playing with his tail while Himiko playfully pawed at his ears.

For the rest of the month, it wasn't uncommon for his one on one training sessions with Hatake to involve him working to integrate his new form into his fighting technique. This involved Ryuu being able to transform in the middle of a dive and change his position before coming out of the transformation fighting. It meant that he would be able to move far more freely than his opponent and use his surroundings to his advantage either to hide or to springboard off of obstacles to provide height or weight to his attacks making him far harder to defeat in a one on one battle. It also meant that he would be able use his small form to turn multiple opponents against each other if he allowed them to come at him from separate directions before vanishing below their line of sight at the last second so they crashed into each other instead of him once he was allowed to spar against multiple opponents again.

His tournament training on the other hand was spent perfecting the new spells he had learned and researching every possible creature that could be brought into the maze. Those spells he hadn't actually mastered were ignored in favor of those he had so there would be no question of the spell failing at the worst possible moment while inside of the maze. He also spent time training with his familiars since this would be the only task in which they would not interfere or be severely outclassed; though he did worry about Tenji because he was the only one of the three that couldn't escape into the air. If he didn't include the kneazle though, the cat would likely pitch a fit because he had been left behind once too often this year.

All too soon the final task was looming overhead as May melted seamlessly into June.

On the morning of the task, right after breakfast, Ryuu was given the day off to spend time with his family. He was pleasantly surprised to find that Yamamoto-shishou had brought his grandparents, godfather, and Remus through the portal for the occasion. He'd actually been exchanging letters with his godfather over the course of the year and had slowly gotten to know the man better as he slowly healed from the years he spent in prison. He didn't quite think of him as fondly as he did Hatake but he was no longer so mistrusting of the man. The first thing Sirius did after Ryuu allowed him to greet him with a hug was to swear the same oath as the others had sworn; his godfather having purchased a replacement wand once his Mind Healer had deemed him mentally stable enough to handle the responsibility (something that further put Ryuu to ease around the ex-criminal).

Ryuu spent the rest of the morning giving his grandparents a guided tour of the castle with the rest of his family tagging along; Sirius and Remus adding tidbits and interesting facts along the way. Over lunch, which was eaten in Takashi and Taki's apartment, Ryuu treated his grandparents, godfather, and family friend to the sight of his new animagus form. Sirius actually beamed at him in pride; his godfather pleased that Ryuu had followed in his and James's footsteps.

Ryuu then spent a few minutes playing with Padfoot as his godfather transformed and teasingly chased him about the house. Ryuu got him back by sitting on the grim-like dog's back and riding him around like a horse while Padfoot spun around in circles trying to get him off. The two Marauders then tried to name Ryuu's form only for Ryuu to inform them that Luna already named him Dragon; this had the two wizards laughing because the name in no way matched his form. Sirius insisted on dubbing him Bandit after Ryuu stole a piece of taiyaki from his godfather's plate while in his animagus form in retaliation for being laughed at; so Ryuu became the Dragon Bandit.

When the time came for Ryuu to join the other champions, he was in higher spirits than he had been since he'd been entered into the tournament. The adults in his life though, the moment Ryuu was on his way out, dropped their carefree and relaxed appearance as the worry they had for the teen made itself known. Barty Crouch Jr. had been interrogated once more last night and they knew that the final task was actually a trap to capture Ryuu but the Death Eater had been Obliviated of the knowledge of how and when the trap would be triggered. Either Voldemort had not trusted that Crouch wouldn't be caught, the dark lord knew Crouch had been found out early on and planned to erase their deeds, or the man had figured it out himself and removed the information from his own mind. Crouch was taken into custody at that point and the real Moody released from his captivity.

Moody revealed a bit more of Crouch's plans as the Death Eater had bragged about them during the times when the man had taken hair from the ex-Auror for the Polyjuice potion. Moody had no clue as to what would trigger the trap though, Crouch never mentioning it in his presence. The grizzled old wizard would be patrolling the outside of the maze searching for infiltrators in the event that Crouch had snuck any of Voldemort's supporters into the school now that he was no longer required to masquerade as a prisoner. The only reason that the ex-Auror was up and moving after his long imprisonment was due to Crouch Jr. being uncovered near the start of the year; something that had allowed Madam Pomfrey to treat him for malnutrition and heal his wounds throughout the year in order to keep the man in good health.

In the stands, as they waited for the task to start, Ryuu's family and friends solemnly waited for the other shoe to drop. Out of Ryuu's friends, only Satoshi was fully aware of what was going on as the only adult in their close knit group but the other children knew something was up by how serious and worried the adults were behaving once Ryuu had left to join the champions. Ryuu had also warned Luna privately that there was a chance something could go wrong in this task and promised that no matter what happened he would do everything he could to come back to her when the task was over. He then kissed her passionately (for the first time since the day he'd faced the centaur and asked her to be his girlfriend), pouring his soul into the kiss to let her know just how much he cared.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Baka – idiot  
>Otousantousan – father  
>Wakatta – Understood I understand

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _That's the third task done and the hostage task accounted for. We also got to see Ryuu finally figure out what he'd been feeling for Luna all this time as well as witnessed another prophecy coming into play. Everyone also finally got to see Ryuu's animagus form and he got to play around a bit. I even had Sirius make an appearance; Padfoot was mad at me since I'd left him out for so long. Poor guy, he sort of got side-lined in this story; which is a real shame as he's one of my favorite characters. We'll see a little more of him later. _

_There is one review I wanted to address here in the story… one reviewer mentioned that I seem to enjoy beating Ryuu up. I actually don't and have toned down each of his fights and injuries from the initial rough drafts before posting the final versions of each chapter. The thing is, Ryuu is a trouble magnet and it shows. Escaping injury free in the situations he ends up in would be nearly impossible unless I made him some kind of uber god. He's grown stronger through the years though and so he's actually started walking away from some of his encounters rather than being carried away. _

_Anywho… that's my reasoning behind the injuries he's suffered and even JKR beat out intrepid hero up in pretty much every book. I just try to match the injuries to his battles. _

_Speaking of battles, quite a few people complained that I didn't show Ryuu's treatment at the hands of the merfolk and I'll apologize for that. I'd originally intended to write that part out but kept drawing a blank because I couldn't write the merfolks' dialogue or come up with a sacrificial ritual that didn't sound cheesy and overdone. So I cut that part out and shelved it until I can find inspiration to turn it into an omake._

_Anyway, the next chapter will have the fourth and final task and should be up either Friday or Saturday. For my fellow Americans; have a Happy Thanksgiving! To all of my other readers; have a great week. I'll leave the extra pumpkin pies I made for everyone to enjoy. ~ Jenn_


	36. The Maze of Lies

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

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><p><span>Chapter 35: The Maze of Lies; a Trap within a Trap<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>May 1995 ~ June 1995<em>

Down in front of the entrance, Ryuu stood ready and waiting, fully aware that this was the last task and Voldemort's last chance to reach him through the tournament. He also knew that the adults were aware of it as well because he immediately recognized that the Moody patrolling the outer edges of the maze was the real Moody since he no longer felt on edge around the man as he had the imposter. As the sun sank beneath the horizon, the stadium lights flared up and the crowd roared once in anticipation as Bagman climbed onto the platform that had been created for him to use during his commentary. Ryuu stretched to loosen up his muscles and get the blood flowing as he waited for the task to start.

"Welcome, gentle wizards and witches to the final conclusion of the first Quad-Wizard Tournament. We have seen our champions face the unknown when we tested their courage against dragons, we have seen them exhibit their intelligence as they formed strategies to conquer the depths of the Black Lake, and we have seen a demonstration of their skill and determination in the face of anger and fear as they battled for the release of their hostages. Tonight, we will see how well they can measure up against each other, the clock, and the many challenges they will face inside the maze!"

The crowd roared in approval as the lights illuminated the maze in its entirety, allowing those who had gathered to watch history being made a clear view of the entire maze and the numerous obstacles that the champions would be facing once they entered the maze – minus the few sections that were intentionally cloaked in shadows.

"The champions will be entering the maze in five minute intervals in order of their current point standing; Fleur Delacour of Beauxbatons will be the first to enter the maze as she currently holds the highest number of points. Following our lovely French champion, will be Ryuu Natsume representing the Japanese Academy; the unexpected fourth champion and notable underdog of the tournament due to being a full three years younger than the rest of the champions. The third champion to enter the maze will be Cedric Diggory, the champion of Hogwarts an amateur seeker and a powerful wizard in his own right. And finally, in fourth place is Viktor Krum, Durmstrang's champion, the world famous seeker and a hopeful contender for the Dueling Circuit for this upcoming season."

There were roars of approval after each name was listed and Ryuu felt a shiver run down his spine after his name was called. Shaking off the feeling of foreboding, Ryuu took a couple of deep breaths to calm his racing heart and center himself as a loud wand blast echoed through the night and Fleur ran into the maze. Ryuu reached up and scratched Tenji beneath the chin, the kneazle riding on his shoulder while his two winged familiars hovered and circled his head; the fourteen year old drawing comfort from the presence of his familiars. Five minutes later, a second blast rang out and Ryuu walked into the maze and turned towards the left, his cherry wand in his right hand as he pulled his hanbo off his back with his left.

Ryuu was in no hurry to run through the maze; it was stupid to rush headlong into whatever danger was lurking between the towering hedges. Sure, time was against him but he was more concerned with making it through the task alive than he was about actually winning the stupid tournament. It was survival that had driven him so hard through the first three tasks; not a competitive spirit. The first obstacle he encountered was Devil's Snare, a right nasty vine that strangled unsuspecting victims; he dealt with it easily using a few well placed cutting curses to remove the longer vines and a low powered Incendio to light the cuttings on fire to chase away the rest of the searching strands.

His next challenge was a creature, a rather ugly, stunted looking brownish colored bear with grasshopper wings and a leech's mouth; he easily identified it as a blood-sucking bugbear. Shogun distracted the beast while Ryuu stunned it by aiming his stunner into the beast's open mouth as it roared up at the irritating owl. He then tied it up with chains and moved on, continuing to work his way towards the center of the maze as the third blast cut through the air signifying that Cedric had just entered the maze.

The moment he turned the next corner, he got caught between a pair of chameleon ghouls that had been masquerading as suits of armor. He spent ten minutes fighting off the two of them with his hanbo before he managed to knock them unconscious (part of his brain registering the final wand blast which meant that all four champions were now in the maze). He then stunned the two ghouls to insure they wouldn't bother him again before tying them up much as he had the bugbear; only with ropes instead of chains since ghouls could escape from chains because all ghouls had an affinity for chains.

The first spell he encountered was an anti-gravity mist and he spent a couple of minutes trying to dispel it before he tested the spell with his hanbo. When nothing happened to the staff, he stepped into the mist and found himself hanging upside down. He panicked for a split second before he closed his eyes, realized it that it had done nothing more than flip him upside down, and walked the rest of the way through with his eyes still closed so as not to become disoriented.

He then came to another fork in the path and paused as he heard a high pitched scream ring out through the maze and recognized the voice as belonging to Fleur. He briefly considered following Fleur's screams to make certain she was alright but they cut off before he could make his decision. The blast of red sparks reaching into the sky a few minutes later from the same general location and direction that the scream had come from signified that the French witch had given up.

Casting the Point Me Spell in order to confirm which direction he needed to head in, Ryuu slipped into the left fork and came face to face with his worst nightmare. It was a mirror image of himself holding a bleeding Shogun, the blood running down the mirror Ryuu's wrist from the hand that held the knife that killed the owl. Ryuu sucked in a sharp breath and fired a stunning spell at the apparition which caused it to shimmer and change, this time he was holding Tenji, the kneazle's neck snapped while two piles of unmoving feathers lay in a pool of blood at his feet. A blasting curse changed the image again and this time it was his little baby brother dead in his arms by his own hand, another spell and it was his parents dead, another and it was his uncle, and finally Ryuu struck out with his hanbo as the image shifted one last time to show a twisted image of himself holding a dying Luna and telling him it was his fault she was dying.

The boggart exploded as Ryuu's hanbo, wrapped round with magic and spiritual energy in his rage and fear, crashed down on the likeness of his own face. Breathing hard, eyes glittering with unshed tears, Ryuu stared at the scattered remains of the magical youkai as his anger and fear slowly subsided. It was the first time he'd faced a boggart since Remus had introduced them early the previous year in Defense Against the dark Arts and he'd reacted much the same way last time.

It was the reason there was no boggart in his Defense exam at the end of the previous year; Remus hadn't wanted to have to find a third one in order to test the rest of the class and Ryuu couldn't laugh out loud to power the spell that would defeat a boggart (the Riddikulus spell one of those that required verbalization to work properly with the laughter fueling the active part of the spell). Wiping the end of his hanbo clean on the surrounding hedges, Ryuu moved through the mess he'd made as Shinjin landed on his shoulder and trilled softly as she rubbed his cheek affectionately; her presence soothing the last of his fear.

Fifteen minutes later, Ryuu stumbled upon a wounded Cedric Diggory battling a pair of enormous scorpion like creatures that Ryuu recognized as the blast-ended skrewts that Hagrid had bred for their Care of Magical Creatures classes that year. Grimacing, as he did not have any fond memories of the aggressive and violent creatures, Ryuu slipped up behind the one that had a stinger and used a severing charm to cut the stinger from the vicious beast just as it tried to strike Cedric in the back as the Hufflepuff was knocked off his feet by the other skrewt. The injured creature whirled around to face Ryuu as it roared (squealed?) in pain and anger and Ryuu slammed the butt end of his hanbo into the creature's face twice, blinding the disgusting creature as he smashed its insect-like eyes. Ryuu followed up with a high powered blasting charm in the creature's wide open mouth which caused the beast to explode and coat Ryuu, Cedric, and the last remaining skrewt with its gristly remains.

Ryuu then moved to help Cedric with the remaining skrewt; ignoring the blast of flames from its rear since his uniform was protected with his Dragon Ward. Ryuu stunned the second skrewt by slipping beneath its belly and hitting it in a vulnerable spot while Cedric copied Ryuu and blew it up with a blasting curse to the mouth at the same time from where he'd been sitting on the ground just in front of the creature. The two champions than sat in the middle of the corridor staring at each other as they caught their breath.

"I have to say that was disgusting," Cedric declared after a moment. "I also owe you my life; I don't think I would have managed to defeat both of them if you hadn't shown up when you did."

Ryuu nodded in agreement with Cedric's first statement as he cleared skrewt guts from his face. He then shrugged in response to the second statement since he had a feeling his fellow Hogwarts student would have done the same for him if their positions had been reversed. Ryuu then gestured towards Cedric's broken leg and stomach in concern as he noticed the long gash that circled the older boy, from where one of the skrewts had caught him in its pincher at some point during the fight.

"I'll be fine… I think… but I'm done as far as the task goes," Cedric replied with a grimace. "Just to warn you, there's a sphinx ahead; I was trying to go around because I couldn't answer the riddle she gave me. You'd think it would have been an easy task after all those damn riddles I memorized for the previous task but no… she just had to give me an obscure one. Anyway, the sphinx is the only thing standing between you and the cup now; unless you count Viktor. Fleur went out earlier, she'd been caught by some creature; not sure what but whatever it was it left her unconscious and I shot up sparks before it could come back for her when I stumbled across her just a minute after she screamed."

Ryuu nodded in understanding as he used his wand to send up sparks for Cedric who was now sweating and trembling in pain due to his injuries. Waving his wand at the injured teen, Ryuu cleaned the older boy's injuries and then conjured bandages that wrapped themselves around the teen's abdomen to slow the bleeding (the only two healing spells he'd managed to master so far). Ryuu then clapped the teen on the shoulder and left Shogun with him to watch over him until one of the proctors retrieved him; knowing the owl could easily catch up with him later.

"Good luck, Natsume, you've earned your place among the champions," Cedric weakly called out as Ryuu headed towards the sphinx. Ryuu turned around and briefly smiled at the older teen before he bowed in thanks and vanished around the corner.

It didn't take Ryuu long to find the sphinx and as he stopped and contemplated the magnificent creature, he wondered if he'd be able to communicate with it. He wasn't certain if sphinxes could read or understand sign language or not, he couldn't exactly speak the answer to her riddle, and using magic to attempt to pass her would be inviting certain death. He had to at least try once or he'd need to go all the way around and there was no telling what other creatures were still lurking in the maze. What Ryuu hadn't counted on was the interference of Shinjin as he approached the lion creature with a woman's face; the phoenix flying over Ryuu's shoulder and twittering at the sphinx.

"Is what this phoenix says is true? You do not speak yet you still dared face me?" the sphinx inquired curiously as she peered around the hovering phoenix to stare at Ryuu with calm golden eyes. Ryuu nodded and bowed to the sphinx; figuring treating her with respect would help him in this case. "You are brave… the phoenix also tells me that you have power over music, is this also true?" Ryuu nodded a second time and pulled his pan flute out from under his uniform jacket where it hung on a leather cord around his neck.

"You may use the magic in your music to show me the answer to your riddle but should you attempt to trick me with the magic; I will kill you where you stand," the sphinx announced after studying Ryuu for a moment. "Do you wish to accept my conditions?" Another nod. "Very well, you will have but one chance to answer my riddle if you answer incorrectly or you attempt to cheat using magic; I will kill you. Should you answer correctly you will be allowed to pass beyond me where the treasure you seek waits for you. If you choose not to answer you may walk away unharmed."

The sphinx then sat down and closed her eyes as she recited the riddle she'd chosen for Ryuu;

_Each morning I appear to lie at your feet,  
>All day I will follow no matter how fast you run,<br>Yet I nearly perish in the midday sun._

_What am I?_

Ryuu tilted his head to one side as if he couldn't believe she'd just given him such an easy riddle (especially after Cedric had told him that she'd given him a rather difficult one). Bringing his flute up to his mouth, he wove an illusion over his shadow to make it come to life so that it could point to itself. The moment his answer was understood and accepted as the correct answer, Ryuu dropped the illusion and tucked his flute back beneath his jacket. The shinx smiled to reveal her sharp teeth before she stepped to one side in order to allow Ryuu to pass unharmed.

Ryuu bowed to her a second time and walked by the sphinx just as Shogun dropped down out of the air to land on his shoulder while Shinjin trilled a few more soft notes to the sphinx before she followed Ryuu into the center of the maze. He wasn't certain what made him do it but as Ryuu walked by the sphinx he reached out and trailed his hand along her side and to his and the sphinx's surprise he drew a rumbling purr of pleasure from her. Exasperated, the sphinx then swatted him on the back of the head with her tail but otherwise left him unmolested.

Grinning to himself, for he could now honestly say he'd pet a sphinx, Ryuu crept forward with his wand and hanbo once again in his hands as he approached the center of the maze and saw the trophy sitting on a short pillar in the very center of the small square. Ryuu didn't immediately step into the open hedge room, the sense of foreboding he'd felt earlier returning threefold as he watched the trophy glittering in the spotlight that shone down on it from above. Dropping down into a crouch, Ryuu silently cast Homenum Revelio, the spell that would tell him if there was another human present within the fifteen square feet of open area and a short distance beyond it (whether they were hidden or not) but he was far from reassured when the results came back negative.

Frowning, Ryuu tilted his head to one side and studied the six openings that stood out from the three walls he could see from where he crouched in one such opening. He assumed there would be an eighth opening to his left since it would fit the pattern of two per wall and he growled silently because he was blind to whatever lurked in that entrance due to his present location. Ryuu lifted Shogun from his shoulder and silently tossed the owl into the air in a silent order to search the area.

The owl circled him once before soaring out into the open room only to immediately be attacked by the largest spider Ryuu had ever seen. Snarling, Ryuu dashed out and slammed his hanbo down hard across the spider's abdomen to allow Shogun to fly up out of reach of the flesh eating acromantula. The spider whirled on him in a flash but Ryuu was ready with a cutting hex that took off the left pedipalp (one of the feeler like appendages that grew beside the spider's mouth). The spider reared back on its hind four legs and screamed in pain while at the same time leaving its vulnerable belly exposed to Ryuu. His second cutting curse separated the abdomen from the prosoma (or thorax) effectively separating the spider's heart from its brain; killing it instantly.

Whipping around with his wand held at the ready and eyes wide he searched for any sign of a second spider lurking in one of the side corridors. Shogun hooted softly in reassurance as the owl returned to his shoulder and Ryuu relaxed marginally as he lowered his wand and turned to face the trophy once more. Lifting Tenji from his shoulder, he set the kneazle down on the ground, in case he was attacked as he approached the plinth the golden cup sat upon. Every few steps, Ryuu cast a few detection charms on the ground in front of him as he carefully approached the trophy.

He was only a foot away from the pillar when he nervously turned in a circle while wondering what had happened to Viktor. He knew Cedric had dropped out of the task and that Cedric had dropped Fleur out of the task when he'd found her. There'd been no sign of the Bulgarian seeker though and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not. He cast Homenum Revelio a second time and once again found that he was the only one within a fifteen foot radius. Swallowing thickly, he turned back to the trophy once more and slipped his hanbo back into its sheath as he inched slightly closer to the gold cup.

He just couldn't bring himself to reach out and grab the trophy though; he knew something wasn't right but he couldn't exactly pin down what was bothering him. He shouldn't have been the only one to reach the center of the maze. He wasn't anywhere near as experienced as the other three champions; one of them should have made it to the center of the maze. And while both Cedric and Fleur had the misfortune of facing off against creatures that took them out of the competition that didn't explain what had happened to Viktor.

Shinjin alighted on his right shoulder at that point and both owl and phoenix head butted him in reassurance and Ryuu glanced behind him where Tenji was sniffing at the dead acromantula curiously. Still he hesitated though, unable to believe that he could have made it through the entire maze so easily while the three older champions had not. When another couple of minutes passed without anything happening, he inched up next to the plinth and switched his wand into his left hand to wipe the sweat from his right hand as he reached out towards the trophy. It was at that moment that a blood covered Viktor crashed into the clearing yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Don't touch the cup! It is a trap!"

Ryuu spun around; his hand still outstretched and had but five seconds to take in the sight of the bloodied and battered champion as his right hand smacked into the cup. The moment he touched the trophy he felt a thread of magic snap out and grab him through his belly button and he was sucked up into a whirlwind of colored lights along with his two winged familiars. Just minutes later, Ryuu hit the ground hard, his familiars flying off with a pair of screeches from the disorientation of whatever the spell had done to him combined with the rough landing. Rolling over onto his stomach, Ryuu sucked in a sharp breath the moment he tried to put any weight on his left arm; he'd dislocated his left shoulder again when he'd landed on his left elbow.

Cradling his arm close, Ryuu rose up onto his knees and searched his immediate surroundings; idly noting that he'd been transported into some kind of graveyard. Not seeing any one near by, Ryuu cast his eyes on the ground around him for his wand (which he had dropped when he'd crashed down); his eyes shying away from the trophy which had taken him out of the maze. If he had pulled out his holly wand and cast Homenum Revelio first, he would have known that there were two people sneaking up on him through the graves; or rather one human and one grotesque shade in the form of a deformed baby.

He'd just picked up his cherry wand and was lifting his head once more when a blasting curse picked him up and threw him across the graveyard, smashing him into one of the many crumbling grave stones that filled the creepy cemetery. He had just enough time to see Pettigrew's ruined face snarling at him before a stunner hit him in the face and he lost consciousness.

Ryuu woke some time later to find himself dangling off the ground by his arms, his weight pulling painfully on his dislocated shoulder and his feet tightly bound together. His left side ached fiercely from where he'd been hit by the blasting curse as did his back and right side from the spell throwing him against the headstone. Glancing up carefully, so as not to twist his arm and hurt himself further, Ryuu saw that he'd been tied to the outstretched pike of a stone knight. A glance downwards let him know his feet had been bound together and tied to the base of the statue with two separate ropes that would prevent him from kicking out with his feet while at the same time doing nothing to ease the weight pulling down on his arms.

The sound of metal scraping against rock had Ryuu snapping his head up to stare out at the massive cauldron floating through the graveyard, scraping against the headstones. Pettigrew grinned nastily at him once he'd set the cauldron down on a small pyre and ignited the pyre with the wand he was using. The rat-like man then scampered around the caldron and gigged as he stopped just a few feet away from Ryuu; his deformed face twisted up in maniacal glee.

"Can't escape now, can you, Potter?" Pettigrew hissed gleefully. "No stupid bird, no stupid cat, and no stupid godfather to save you neither!"

Ryuu spit at the rat-man (his concern over his missing familiars stoking his anger) and was rewarded with blinding pain he well remembered as the yellow light of the Cruciatus Curse slammed into him. When the pain ended he barred his teeth at the rat-man and spat out the blood that filled his mouth from when he'd bit his tongue while trashing around against the pain.

"_Enough playing around, Wormtail!_" a weak, raspy voice ordered. "_He needs to be alive and still have enough blood inside of him to complete the ritual. You can play with him after he has faced me!_"

"Yes, master," Pettigrew groveled as he purposely punched Ryuu on his wounded side before he scampered off to finish preparing what ever potion he was making in the caldron.

Ryuu watched through his pain as the rat-man dropped something into the caldron with a splash, the brief glimpse he saw of the thing turning his stomach as it had looked like some sort of twisted human-snake baby. Pettigrew then used his wand to dig up the grave a couple of feet away from where Ryuu was hanging, exhuming the bones of the person whose grave he'd disturbed.

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given; you will renew your son,*" Pettigrew intoned before he levitated the entire skeleton, rendered it down to dust, and dropped it into the caldron. Ryuu glanced up at his hands and began trying to twist free, no longer caring that about the pain that shot through his dislocated shoulder or the fact that his frantic struggles were aggravating the searing pain caused by the pain curse; his fear of what was currently happening far greater than the pain he was causing himself at the moment. "Flesh of the servant, willingly given; you will revive your master!*"

Ryuu glanced back just in time to watch Pettigrew slice off his right hand and toss it in the bubbling caldron and this time the fourteen year old did vomit as the liquid in the caldron turned a putrid red. Panting as his growing fear turned to abject terror mixed with horrified disgust; Ryuu renewed his struggles as the bleeding Pettigrew staggered away from the caldron and approached Ryuu once more. The one-eyed man grinned as he watched Ryuu fighting the ropes for a full minute before he brought the bloody silver knife he'd used to cut off his own hand up to Ryuu's face and wiped the blood from the blade onto the teen's face.

"Should I cut up your pretty face just like your wretched owl ruined my face?" Pettigrew asked while pressing the tip of the blade against the bottom of Ryuu's left eye just enough to slice through the skin. The disfigured wizard giggled again as he pulled the blade downwards an inch and the deranged sound combined with the sting of the blade cutting through his skin made Ryuu flinch away from the man and jolt his shoulder. "No… not yet… I can disfigure you completely later… my lord promised me." With that proclamation, Pettigrew moved the knife to Ryuu's arm, cut open the sleeve of Ryuu's left arm, and sliced the inside of his left arm open from elbow to armpit, just barely missing the main artery that ran down the arm and Ryuu silently screamed and jerked in pain as the man pressed a large vial against the new cut to collect the blood flowing down Ryuu's arm and side.

Panting, Ryuu watched dizzily as Pettigrew staggered back over to the caldron and held up the vial of his stolen blood as he called out the final line of whatever spell he was casting, "Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken; you shall resurrect your foe.*"

Ryuu couldn't help but stare as the potion inside the cauldron boiled over as it turned bright white before a pale figure with green tinged skin rose up out of the fluid. His heart froze in his chest as the man turned around and Ryuu gazed once again upon the red eyes that had haunted his nightmares for as long as he could remember.

"My robes, Wormtail," Voldemort hissed as he climbed out of the caldron. Pettigrew quickly scampered forward and handed the naked man a black garment and helped the man to dress before passing Voldemort a pale wand that stood out starkly against his dark robes. "I feel my strength returning already. You have done well, Wormtail, and you will be rewarded for your services. But first, I must gather my wayward followers and teach them the truth of their lord's immortality. Give me your arm, Wormtail."

Shaking off the lethargy that was stealing over him due to the constant pain of his injuries and the amount of blood he was still losing, Ryuu once again weakly struggled against the bonds that held him defenseless. From the corner of his eye, he saw Voldemort press the tip of his wand against Pettigrew's left arm where the Dark Mark stood out starkly against the man's pale flesh. Not more than two minutes later the sound of multiple cracks of apparation filled the night as about thirty-two cloaked and masked wizards apparated into the graveyard and gathered in a loose circle around the Dark Lord, the occasional gap in the circle leading Ryuu to believe there were people missing.

"Ah… my 'loyal' followers," Voldemort purred. "My, oh, so brave followers that willingly denounced me in order to escape the punishment that befell those who were caught doing my noble work. You, the cowardly scum, are not fit to lick my boots."

Voldemort approached Pettigrew and used a spell to give the wizard a new hand to replace the one he'd cut off for the potion. The Dark Lord then walked around the circle of Death Eaters admonishing them like children as he passed out Crucios like candy. The evil wizard then stepped up to where Ryuu was dangling helplessly.

"And here is our special guest of the evening," Voldemort declared. "Harry Potter, the boy the world believed had destroyed me when he was but a mere babe." Ryuu spat at Voldemort's face (though he missed as the dark wizard had merely stepped out of the way); his green eyes defiant and angry despite the obvious pain he was in. "A mere child that shows far more courage than my loyal followers. Tonight you shall all witness the strength of your lord so that you will never again doubt that I am your master and the rightful ruler of this world! Tonight you shall watch me duel this slip of a boy who was foretold as my downfall and you will watch me snuff out his life like a candle in the wind."

"Wormtail, cut him down and give him back his wand!" Voldemort ordered as he stepped away from the where Ryuu was hanging and waited impatiently for the rat-man to comply.

Pettigrew giggled and cut the rope that held Ryuu suspended, dropping the teen face first into the ground as the ropes holding his feet were pulled taunt. The disfigured wizard then purposefully stepped on Ryuu's injured arm as he cut his trapped legs free before dropping Ryuu's cherry wand right in front of his face. Panting through the pain, Ryuu reached out and wrapped the fingers of his right hand around the handle of his wand as he used his right elbow to push himself up onto his knees.

He then used his wand to bandage the long gash on his left arm and the raw wound torso from the blasting curse to slow the bleeding of his injuries while keeping one eye on the numerous enemies that were currently surrounding him. Once his left arm was wrapped, he placed his left hand between his knees and pulled hard as he threw his weight backwards to pop his left shoulder back into place; gritting his teeth against the pain of the bone scraping against the ligament, tendons, and muscles as it snapped back into place. He then numbed his shoulder by casting a freezing charm on the left sleeve and shoulder of his shirt.

"Still silent, child?" Voldemort mocking called with false sympathy. "You poor stupid, foolish child; hiding behind a false name and giving yourself false hope that you could hide from me. You may have been lucky the previous two times we faced each other but your luck has run out. Don't worry, I promise to give your family a quick and painless death in honor of what you have given me tonight."

Ryuu snarled and moved his wand into his left hand as he pulled his hanbo off of his back; Pettigrew stupidly having left it in place once again. Chin lifting up in defiance and rage, Ryuu pushed himself all the way to his feet and held his wand at the ready while using the short staff to balance himself while his legs got used to supporting his weight after he'd been dangling in the air for so long.

"Such bravery… I shall enjoy snuffing your life out tonight," Voldemort declared with a hungry smile as he addressed his Death Eaters. "Do not to interfere! Stand and observe the greatness of your lord and master!"

Ryuu glanced around him, taking note of where the Death Eaters were standing, where Wormtail was cowering beside the statue of the knight just behind and to the left of him, and where Voldemort waited impatiently across from him. For a split second he contemplated transforming into his animagus form and fleeing but he discarded that idea just as quickly as he knew his wounds would be just as much (if not more) of a hindrance in his animal form as they were now. He pulled on his magic then, pushing the magic out into the air around him as he'd often done when sparring against multiple opponents during training.

The wash of magic flowing through his body cut his pain in half, allowing him to stand straighter as he pursed his lips and whistled shrilly; calling to his absent familiars in case they were nearly by. Pettigrew and Malfoy (whom Voldemort had identified earlier when he was admonishing his followers) immediately realized what Ryuu had done and the two wizards began searching all around for the animals. Voldemort just laughed and raised his wand only for his laughter to turn into a cry of fury a moment later as Shinjin dropped down out of the sky with the dead body of Voldemort's pet snake clutched in her talons; the head shredded where Shinjin and Shogun had attacked it with their claws.

The phoenix was gone again with a shrill call that sounding like laughter as Voldemort fired a blasting curse at where the bird had been, only to end up destroying the rest of his snake instead because the phoenix had vanished in a swirl of dust. A scream lifted from the dead snake as its body exploded and a black cloud rose up into the air; leaving all of the Death Eaters confused as to what had just happened while Voldemort immediately fired an intense flame curse at Ryuu who simply lifted his wand and fired a stunner while allowing the flames to wash over him; the Dragon Ward leaving him unharmed while cleaning and repairing his clothes so that he appeared perfectly untouched.

The Death Eaters murmured in shock and shifted nervously while the Dark Lord stared at Ryuu in disbelief for a full minute before he began firing a string of dark curses at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked, dove, dodged, and shielded against the various curses; his hanbo batting a few of them aside (the staff once again charged with his magic) as he occasionally fired blasting hexes and cutting curses at the dark lord. The teen didn't escape completely unscathed though; his was body weak from blood loss and his injuries and he was hit with more than one hex and curse. Working his way forward, Ryuu put himself within reach of the dark lord and slammed him in the chest with his hanbo only to get a Crucio to the face for his troubles; the pain curse knocking him to the ground and making him lose hold of his hanbo.

The spell cut off half a minute later when Shogun swooped down out of the night and raked Voldemort across his bald scalp. The owl then disappeared before the wizard could retaliate. By the time the Dark Lord once again turned his attention to the fight, Ryuu was back up on his feet and he hit the Dark Lord in the face with an over powered stinging hex. He then fired a blasting curse at Voldemort only for the wizard to apparate out of the way and catch Ryuu from behind with a vicious cutting curse that ripped open the fang scar (the wards on his clothes not protecting him from curses). A second Crucio then dropped Ryuu back onto his knees before he could turn around to face Voldemort.

Shogun returned and struck Voldemort in the back of the head this time and Ryuu weakly rolled over in time to watch the Dark Lord slash at the bird with his wand and his heart froze as he watched his familiar crash to the ground in a mess of blood and feathers even as the pain from his owl's injury slammed into him. Time slowed down as he saw Lucius Malfoy lift off his mask and step up to the downed owl in front of him with his wand raised. The elder Malfoy then looked up and smirked at Ryuu as he cast the killing curse on the wounded owl and snuffed out Shogun's life with a flash of poisonous green light.

Ryuu stopped breathing as the green light wrapped around Shogun for five long seconds as the bond that bound him to his familiar was ripped violently from his soul. Pain beyond even the Cruciatus Curse ripped through Ryuu in that instant and his scar began glowing bright gold as he pushed up onto his feet and leveled his cherry wand at Lucius Malfoy while hate and rage twisted into a dark fury. Lucius looked back up in time to see death bearing down on him as Ryuu's over powered cutting curse took the man's head apart at eye level. Only when Ryuu lower his wand it wasn't Malfoy he'd killed but another masked Death Eater as the slippery blonde had pulled a fellow Death Eater in front of him at the last minute in a desperate bid to save his own life.

Another of Voldemort's Crucios hit Ryuu and dropped him to the ground again as the Dark Lord vented his anger over the loss of his Death Eater on the enraged teen. Rolling onto his back through the pain, which felt like a mere bee-sting when compared to the sheer agony his soul was in right now, Ryuu fired another cutting hex at Malfoy (tracking the man by his blonde hair) before he summoned his holly wand (the shorter wand having been pocketed by Pettigrew earlier). The moment it was within reach he plucked it from the air and fired a blasting hex at the Dark Lord's feet, blasting him backwards into the stone knight Ryuu had been hanging from earlier. Climbing to his feet, Ryuu kept his holly wand pointed at Voldemort while he searched the area for the missing Malfoy. Voldemort chose that moment to put an end to the duel that had quickly gotten out of hand by firing the killing curse at Ryuu.

Not ready to join his beloved familiar in death (his desire for revenge far greater at the moment), Ryuu snapped out a disarming charm with his holly wand hoping to knock the green light off course. To the surprise of everyone present, when Voldemort's killing curse collided with Ryuu's disarming charm, a loud gong sounded through the graveyard as the two threads of magic merged into a single gold thread. Phoenix song filled the air as more golden threads arched out from where the two spells connected until both Ryuu and Voldemort were surrounded by a golden dome.

Shinjin flashed into the center of the dome with a blast of silver and gold dust, her voice rising to join that of the phoenix song that had risen from the connection between the two wands. The spirit phoenix then landed on Ryuu's shoulder to give him strength as small gold beads formed along the golden thread of magic that connected Ryuu's wand to Voldemort's. As the beads rushed towards Ryuu's wand, he pushed more magic into the connection and forced them towards Voldemort's; that earlier feeling of foreboding warning him that letting those beads of light touch his wand would not be a good thing. Just as the first bead was about to touch Voldemort's wand, Ryuu barred his teeth and snapped up his cherry wand to fire off another blasting curse.

The curse and the beads connected at the same time and Voldemort flew backwards to slam headfirst into the knight's stature as his wand flew up into the air and belched out dozens of ghostly shadows before it suddenly exploded from the force of the magic Ryuu had pushed into it when he'd purposely overpowered the blasting hex. The dome separating the two of them from the Death Eaters shattered with a triumphant trill and Ryuu summoned Shogun's body as Shinjin lifted him about an inch off the ground with a flap of her wings; her talons digging deeply into his shoulder. The moment Shogun's battered body shot into his arms, Shinjin flashed Ryuu across time and space for the first time; taking him back to Hogwarts.

The young phoenix let out a piercing cry as they reappeared in the center of the now dismantled maze where the professors and aurors alike had been trying to discover what had happened to Ryuu when he'd disappeared four and a half hours earlier. Ryuu collapsed to his knees as Shinjin wearily lowered him to the ground, his arms cradling Shogun's dead body. The phoenix then dropped down in front of Ryuu and trilled one last soft cry before she burst into sliver and gold dust; the young phoenix having used up far too much of her magic in order to transport him to safety.

Thinking he'd just lost his youngest familiar in addition to one of his oldest, tears began pouring down Ryuu's face as he threw his head back and let out a soundless scream. Something snapped inside Ryuu in that moment and for the first time in nearly eleven years; Ryuu truly wanted the world to hear him. He wanted the world to shake beneath the fury of his rage and grief; needed them to feel the sheer agony he felt in that minute. Magic swirled through Ryuu as the spell his magic had once cast upon his voice shattered and for the first time in years, Ryuu's voice rang out in a piercing scream that his magic carried for well over a hundred miles in every direction.

The backlash of power caused by the shattering of the decade old silencing ward sent out a shock wave that blasted the aurors and instructors that had been running towards him head over heels as they were forcefully thrown away from Ryuu. The echoes of his first scream had barely died down when Ryuu screamed a second time and his magic lashed out wildly as the pain, anger, and grief he felt inside escalated. The anguish tearing his soul apart combined with his injuries and the amount of magic he'd expended over the course of the night (most of it just seconds earlier in his grief) soon overpowered Ryuu as the sound of his screams finally faded when he slipped into unconsciousness.

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><p>Takashi listened to the soft beeping of the monitoring spell that chirped in time to his son's heartbeat as he gently ran his fingers through Ryuu's dark locks. Curled up on the bed beside Ryuu was a sleeping Luna, the dainty blonde's tear streaked face resting on Ryuu's chest; she'd fallen asleep listening to Ryuu's heartbeat just a short while ago and Takashi hadn't had the heart to move her away. Curled up on the pillow in the crook of Ryuu's neck was an exceedingly distraught kneazle; the cat making pathetic little mewling cries as it repeatedly licked Ryuu's cheek while Luna's albino kneazle in turn licked Tenji's ear as she curled into the larger, older male.<p>

In a gold dish on the table beside Ryuu's bed, a tiny naked Shinjin slept buried in a pile of gold and silver dust while a silent Fawkes stood protectively over the vulnerable phoenix chick; the phoenix's first burning having been extremely traumatic due to it occurring three years far too early. If not for Fawkes turning up shortly after Ryuu passed out and the tears he'd cried on the tiny female, she would have died much as Ryuu had believed she had.

Nyanko-sensei was curled up at Ryuu's feet, the wolf spirit in cat's clothing exhausted and bruised from shielding Ryuu's friends, family, and a good portion of the audience from the worst of the wild magic that Ryuu had released in his grief. The aurors and staff that had been on the pitch at the time hadn't faired as well; many of them suffering from magical burns, multiple lacerations, broken bones, and concussions from the force of the blast that had violently blasted them from their feet shortly after Ryuu had returned.

Taki sat in the chair beside Takashi, her tear stained face resting on his shoulder as she slept fitfully. On the bed behind them, Kenji slept between two fluffy pillows watched over by a much subdued Dobby; the almost six month old baby having needed to be calmed with a drop of sleeping potion as he'd screamed and cried non-stop from the moment Ryuu had vanished out of the maze. Across from Takashi and Taki, Hatake sat still as stone as he too stared at the unmoving teens on the bed; his eyes focused on the many bandages that could be seen beneath Luna's pale blonde locks.

Beside Ryuu's honorary uncle sat Remus and Satoshi both wizards looking haggard as they shifted between watching Ryuu sleep, staring out the window, and glaring at the floor. Beneath the bed, sleeping curled up in his animagus form, Sirius growled and whined in his sleep; his anger and frustration over what happened driving the man into partial insanity over the belief that he'd failed his godson yet again.

Across from Ryuu, in their own beds, the other three champions slept under the false peacefulness of potion induced rest; the three of them having been brought up to the infirmary not long after Ryuu had vanished. The rest of Ryuu's friends had been kicked out of the ward a few hours earlier, there being nothing any of them could do while they waited to see if Ryuu would wake up. And there was no guarantee that he would wake up; the shock of losing his familiar combined with his injuries, severe blood loss, and extreme magical exhaustion taking a toll on Ryuu's body and magical core.

"Hang in there son," Takashi murmured with soft desperation as he threaded his fingers through Ryuu's hair once more. "Please… oh please hang in there. We… I need you to come back, Ryuu-kun."

The next five days crawled by slowly as Ryuu's friends and family hovered around his bed. The other three champions had been released during that time, their wounds easily healed for the most part (not counting the slight nerve damage Fleur had received due to being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse for about five to ten seconds). Cedric and Viktor oddly enough both frequently returned to the ward to check on the unconscious fourteen year old, the former feeling the burden of the debt he owed the younger teen for saving his life and the latter feeling responsible for failing to warn Ryuu in time to prevent the younger teen from being whisked away by the portkey.

Fleur stopped by once or twice but she didn't feel as drawn to the fourteen year old as the other two champions since it had been Cedric that saved her in the maze and not Ryuu. It had also been revealed that an Imperiused and Disillusioned Viktor had actually been the one to curse Fleur; he'd used the Cruciatus Curse on her briefly before stunning her and leaving in search of Cedric. Viktor had actually broken free from the curse on him when Shogun had attacked him the moment the Bulgarian had tried attacking the injured Cedric (Viktor having found the Hufflepuff not long after Ryuu had walked away).

Viktor had then torn through the maze searching for Ryuu in the hopes of warning the teen as the whispered orders he'd been given while under the Imperius Curse ran through his mind. He'd been attacked again and again by various creatures before he'd made it to the center of the maze; bypassing the sphinx completely. He'd just gasped out his warning only to see Ryuu vanish as his hand smacked into the cup as he'd whirled to face Viktor. It had been Viktor that saved the inconsolable Tenji (who'd been left behind when the portkey had whisked Ryuu and the two birds away) from the last living skrewt as the Bulgarian blasted his way out of the maze in search of help.

Cedric and Viktor had eventually come to an understanding about the Hufflepuff's near cursing at the hands of the famous seeker. Fleur, on the other hand, couldn't even look at the Bulgarian without remembering the way he'd cut her down so easily. Viktor didn't blame her though and he studiously avoided the beautiful witch so as to not increase her discomfort and Fleur pretended he didn't exist whenever they were in the same room.

Minister Ogden had stopped by Hospital Ward once two days after the disastrous task in order to deliver Ryuu's prize money since he was the first one to make it to the center of the maze. At the same time, the tournament trophy (which had needed to be replaced after the original was lost during the task) had been presented to Headmaster Yamamoto after Ryuu's name, school, and the year had been carved onto the side of the cup. The rather plain gold cup would reside in the Headmaster's office in Japan until the next tournament (if they held another one) when it would be passed to the Headmaster of the next champion.

In the wee hours of morning on the ninth of June, Ryuu woke from a nightmare screaming; his voice tearing through the Hospital Wing unexpectedly and waking up the small handful of adults that had been dozing beside his bed (Luna having been doused with a sleeping potion and settled into a bed of her own when it became apparent that she wasn't handling Ryuu's lack of improvement very well). Takashi had bolted up out of his chair and gathered his son in his arms the moment he registered that the fourteen year old had finally woken. Ryuu had clung to him and cried, his soft sobs cutting through the silence with a sharpness that exceeded his scream a few seconds earlier.

It was oddly unsettling to _hear_ Ryuu's pain after the years of absolute silence from the teen (not counting his whistles and music). It made the boy's grief all that more tangible to those that watched him with concern and regret. Ryuu eventually cried himself back to sleep in his father's arms and Takashi gently eased him back down on the bed, not quite letting him go as Madam Pomfrey scanned Ryuu's current health with a couple quick spells and murmured reassurances that the teen had moved passed the critical stage and would most likely wake again in about eight to ten hours; once his body truly slept and allowed itself to heal.

It was the best news they'd heard all week and the adults allowed themselves to be kicked out of the ward for the first time since Ryuu had been brought in as they were told to get some rest and come back later. Takashi and Hatake were the last ones to leave, Takashi watching his son's chest rise and fall for several minutes before he followed the gray-haired wizard from the infirmary. They headed, not towards Takashi and Taki's apartment on the lower level but up to Hatake's room where half bottle of Firewhiskey waited for the two of them. Once they were safely inside the bachelor's quarters, Takashi finally broke the silence.

"The wounded viper will strike from within the shadows; a trap within a trap," Takashi quoted softly, his voice trembling with suppressed frustration and pain. "We knew damn well that maze was a trap and we sent him straight into it anyway."

"That which was lost will be found in the depths of darkness and despair," Hatake continued just as softly as he picked up the decanter of alcohol and grabbed a pair of glasses. "It referred to Ryuu-kun's voice. The one possibility neither of us considered the night we first heard the cursed prophecy."

"Found in the depths of darkness and despair," Takashi croaked with a humorless laugh. "Kuso, but I never thought he'd lose one of his familiars; they'd been through so much together. You know that was one of his biggest fears? That one of them would be seriously injured or killed because it was protecting him?"

"The shock of the severed bond is rumored to be the worst pain imaginable," Hatake murmured as he filled both tumblers to the brim with the fiery alcohol and passed one to Takashi. "I've never once sought to find a familiar because I feared being bound to something whose life is so fleeting. Ryuu-kun was bound so tightly to Shogun (and the others) that I can only imagine that it must have felt like his soul was being ripped to pieces when the owl died. He'll either start lashing out at everyone in anger or he will retreat into himself completely."

"I think it will mostly depend on how Shogun died and who was ultimately responsible for the owl's death," Takashi murmured as he sipped at the burning liquid in his cup. "And if he witnessed it happening or if he only felt the bond breaking. When we know more we should contact Madam Longbottom; she'd approached me about Ryuu's familiars after his disastrous second year to find out if I knew that he was bonded to both Tenji and Shogun. She'd warned me about what would happen if one of them were to die or worse be killed before their time and told me about her experience when her familiar died."

"How's the little phoenix doing?"

"Better… Shinjin apparently risked her very existence saving Ryuu; she should not have been able to flash him the way she did until after her first burning day. Pretty much the same reason that she couldn't heal Cedric in the maze; something that upset many people in the audience at the time. They thought Ryuu was being callous."

"A crowd of wizards and witches are generally stupid," Hatake spat without any real heat as he finished his first glass of wizarding alcohol and poured a second. "The more of them you put in one place the quicker their brains shut down. I think magic suppresses the thought process when more than four wizards gather in one place because the air becomes so saturated with the magic they radiate it pushes the very air away from their bodies and their brains start to suffer from oxygen deprivation."

Takashi snickered tipsily as he sipped at his whiskey again, "You won't hear me arguing with you on that one. I wonder if anyone has actually done a study on how magic affects the air and a wizard's brain."

"Doubt it… I do know that a magical's power level can be deduced fairly accurately based upon the level of insanity he or she displays. Take a look at Dumbledore-shishou; mad as a hatter and insanely powerful!"

"Do you think he was always a touch mad or that he went mad over time?" Takashi asked seriously as the subject effectively sobered him as he stared at the older man and swirled the remaining whiskey in his glass.

"Don't know. Geniuses in all walks of life have always been a bit off their rockers though and Dumbledore is a true magical genius. Rumors state he can do things with a wand that have never been done before. Why do you ask?"

"My son is insanely powerful and while not exactly a genius; he's damn close to it. Does that mean he will eventually be driven insane by his magic? Is there a point where the madness a wizard exhibits moves passed the benign and turns into something evil and twisted that eats away the person's mind until he's murdering innocents left and right? What is it that pushes a wizard over the edge?"

"You're wrong, Ryuu is a genius. An extremely gifted genius who is also far more powerful than Dumbledore has ever been or will ever be," Hatake countered as he set his glass down and dropped into the nearest chair. "If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say that half of Dumbledore's proclaimed insanity is feigned to make him seem less threatening to ordinary witches and wizards. He projects a doddering old grandfather persona to make people forget that he is or was the only wizard that both Grindelwald and Voldemort feared at the height of their power. I don't think Ryuu-kun is in danger of being driven mad by his magic any time soon. His grief on the other hand… I can't make the same promise that the loss of his owl won't push him over the edge completely."

"You know… it's times like this I really hate the magical world. Like all fairy tales, magic promises an easy life filled with miracles and you never see the darkness hidden behind the miracle until it's too late. People believe that fairy tales are all sunshine and daisies but the truth is fairy tales are dark and foreboding tales of pain that get rewritten over time to make them more appealing."

"And you resent the fact that magic is responsible for at least fifty percent of your son's suffering of not closer to seventy-five percent."

"Yes and the guilt that resentment causes me cuts almost as deeply as the pain and suffering I've watched being visited upon my son over the last four years. Magic will forever be a part of Ryuu and it hurts to know that I can't completely accept that part of him; not because I don't think magic can be a gift because I know it is but because it is magic that is slowly killing him bit by bit."

"It's not that you can't accept that part of your son; it's that you can't accept what that part of your son's life is doing to him. There's a difference. I've seen mixed families where one or both parents can't accept the magic their child was born with and how they treat their child (with contempt or indifference) and you don't treat Ryuu that way. You've given him unconditional acceptance and it shows in how much he adores and respects you. Answer me this… if you could change one thing about your son, what would it be? What would you take away from him or give to him that you think would make his life better?"

"I'd take away his pain," Takashi replied without hesitation.

"Not his magic?"

"Pain exists both with and without magic," Takashi murmured as he finished the whiskey in his glass. "He's had more than his fair share of pain and if I could I would take it all away."

"There you go," Hatake triumphantly declared as he reached for his glass and downed what was in it before refilling both of their glasses. "If Ryuu-kun's magic was what truly bothered you about your son you would have wished it away rather than just wishing to take away his pain. No… you're beating yourself up for no reason. You're a great father to that kid and more importantly Ryuu knows it."

"Wish the rest of that damn prophecy could be resolved as easily."

"Be careful what you wish for, Takashi," Hatake solemnly warned. "You might not like the answers."

"I don't like the not knowing either."

"Yeah… but there are worse things out there then a little ignorance every now and then."

"And yet… if we'd known Ryuu's familiars were at risk we could have saved Shogun by keeping them safely out of harms way."

"And that might have resulted in Ryuu's death because Shogun might have died saving Ryuu's life," Hatake countered bitingly. "Don't try second guessing yourself, Takashi; you'll only make you and Ryuu miserable."

"You're a right prick when you're drinking, you know that?" Takashi shot back bitterly as he drained his second glass of whiskey and set the glass upside down on the table to indicate that he was finished. "You're absolutely correct but that doesn't change the fact that you're a prick."

"You won't hear me arguing with you. I'm certain there have been times when your son thought or said the same thing about me to his friends when I was perfectly sober," Hatake admitted with a dry laugh. "Go take a shower and spend some time holding that lovely wife of yours or cuddling with the little one; it will make both of you feel better. Dobby should be able to get you a sobering potion if you think you'll need it or a hangover potion if you wait too long. I doubt you want to smell like a booze factory when you head back to the infirmary; rumor has it that Madam Pomfrey is the type to hex you in tender places if you show up in her domain smelling of liquor."

"You'll be there?"

"Wild thestrals couldn't keep me away," Hatake promised.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Kuso – swear word

**Notes:**

* Three line quote/spell/ritual thingy from HP & the Goblet of Fire, chapter 32 (pages 556, 557) US paperback edition. (Voldemort's resurrection)

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _This was a hard chapter to write; I'd not wanted to kill off Shogun but his death was, in a way, inevitable (if only because Malfoy had been looking to get revenge for Draco's disfigurement for a long time). Ryuu's finally found his voice again but it is not exactly the happy occasion it could have potentially been; I know there's been at least one reader wishing for me to give him back his voice and the reason I never replied to those reviews prior to the posting of this chapter was because I knew this chapter was coming and didn't want to give out any spoilers. _

_Additionally, Voldemort has a body again and Malfoy's days are numbered. On the plus side, Cedric was saved and Ryuu kicked butt against Voldemort. _

_Oh, and the reason why Shinjin never helped Ryuu during the second task has been explained; she was too young and too immature (one reviewer actually complained about that; saying that what was the point in giving Ryuu a phoenix if I didn't allow him to use her – well now you know). Phoenix's are fantastical creatures with amazing abilities but they too have limits to what they are capable of accomplishing. _

_Last thing to address; the seeming inaction on Takashi and Kakashi's part in regards to the prophecy. They did sit down to discuss it but I chose not to show that part because they really didn't have enough information at the time to fully interpret the prophecy because it does take time to research the possibilities. Precautions were taken to protect all of the champions but there are somethings they just couldn't plan; Crouch Junior's lack of memory regarding what the actual trap was didn't help because they had no idea what else they needed to keep watch for. _

_Anywho… there was something else I wanted to say but it slipped my mind for now. Next chapter will finish up Ryuu's fourth year and deal with the fallout from Voldemort's rebirth. I'd like to thank everyone for their reviews and apologize for not answering any of them lately; I'll try to get to them over the weekend but no promises as my youngest is sick and I still haven't finished cleaning up after all of the cooking and feasting yesterday (I'm playing hooky from the kitchen right now because I hate washing dishes). Next chapter will be up in a few days (Monday or thereabouts). ~ Jenn_


	37. The Honing of the Weapon

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

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><p><span>Chapter 36: The Honing of the Weapon<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan &amp;<br>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu  
>June 1995 ~ August 1995<em>

It was the rough scratching of a sandpaper tongue rasping against his left cheek along with the pitifully whimpered mewls of Tenji that brought Ryuu to wakefulness the second time. He didn't bother opening his eyes as tears slowly slipped from their corners and that rough tongue washed them away; the kneazle offering Ryuu a measure of comfort while at the same time poignantly reminding him exactly just how much he'd lost.

Twisting sideways, Ryuu pulled his kneazle into his arms and buried his face into Tenji's fur; the burning pain from the Cruciatus Curses and the sharp pain he felt from his injuries welcomed because it helped drown out the unbearable emptiness that continued to rip through his soul where Shogun's and Shinjin's bonds used to resonate with the birds' emotions and magic.

When the soft trills of a phoenix's sooth song sounded in Ryuu's ears, he felt a wave of resentment wash through him. _How dare he sing!_ Ryuu angrily hissed in his mind as he snapped his eyes open to glare resentfully at the red fire phoenix perched on the table beside the bed. _How dare he try to sooth the emptiness when I've lost both my winged friends!_

The phoenix looked right at him and trilled a second time before he leaned down and pecked at something on the table at his feet and against his will Ryuu's eyes were drawn to the bowl filled with gold and silver dust. Ryuu swallowed thickly as he vividly recalled Shinjin bursting into dust in front of his eyes; the female phoenix having given her all to save him and tears poured down Ryuu's face as his heart rose up in his throat and choked him.

A scream was trying to fight its way out as Ryuu closed his eyes and pressed his face closer to Tenji's belly only for Fawkes to chirp sharply at him. Angry green eyes met imperious obsidian eyes for a heartbeat before the phoenix once again dug through the grit-like ashes and this time when Ryuu glanced down his entire being stilled as he finally saw what the male phoenix had been trying to show him. Nestled in the small nest of sparkling dust motes was a six day old phoenix chick, bald as the day she had first hatched, Shinjin was sleeping curled up in the ashes of her first body.

More tears poured from Ryuu's eyes though this time they were tears of sheer disbelief and desperate hope as his eyes locked onto the tiny fluttering of Shinjin's little chest rising and falling with each breath she took. The little phoenix's survival helped take the edge off of the pain radiating through his soul but did nothing to take away the pain of losing Shogun. Tenji's tongue raking across his eyes brought Ryuu's attention back to the kneazle in his arms and Ryuu forced his left hand up through the burning pain of damaged nerves to scratch Tenji behind the ear, eliciting a broken purr from the kneazle.

"I am glad to see you awake, child."

The sound of Dumbledore's voice cutting through the room like a train wreck made Ryuu freeze and close his eyes as he immediately knew what the man wanted from him. Burying his face back in Tenji's fur once more, Ryuu tried to block out the memories of that night as his entire body began shaking violently and his magic began slipping out of what little control he'd been keeping it under since Tenji woke him.

"You're upsetting my Dragon," Luna declared sharply, her usual dreaminess completely absent.

"Mind your tone, Miss Lovegood," Professor McGonagall scolded harshly in return.

The sound of Ryuu growling as he peeled his face away from Tenji just far enough to glare at the stern witch for snapping at Luna like that was enough to make nearly everyone jump. They were still not used to the fourteen year old's sudden ability to speak after only knowing his silence. Even Ryuu was a bit startled over the sound he'd made and his anger floundered as he remembered why he was no longer silenced… why he'd finally wished to be heard… and he spiraled back into his depression as his soul was torn to pieces all over again. A pained keening sound issuing forth from his lips against his will.

"I think it best that you all leave until my son has had time to grieve," Takashi ordered in a no nonsense tone.

"We will leave you in peace just as soon as we know what happened the other evening," Dumbledore replied in a tone that sounded cold and unfeeling to Ryuu's ears.

"Excuse me?" Takashi whispered dangerously and Ryuu automatically flinched as he'd rarely ever heard his father angry enough to use 'that tone'. "You dare to stand there and tell me that a bit of information is more important than my son's mental health in the face of what he's recently lost? You _dare_ to belittle what he has _suffered_ because you believed you'd _secured_ the task when you so _obviously_ failed? If you _think_ for one minute I'm going to stand aside and watch you destroy my son with your callous disregard for his current state of mind you're in for a rude awakening. I suggest you leave, _now_, Dumbledore-_san_ before you push me too far."

"I see," Dumbledore intoned; the disappointment and reproach coloring those two simple words unmistakable.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the ward and Ryuu stared wide-eyed at the stunned look on Dumbledore's face as a red handprint blossomed across the wizard's cheek from where his father had just slapped the older man. Ryuu's eyes then flickered to his father who was breathing heavily as he glared at the near ancient headmaster with contempt and loathing.

"Don't you ever, and I do mean _ever_, take that tone with me again because I choose to see my son as a person instead of the ignorant weapon you've repeatedly tried to convince me to make him," Takashi spat out coldly. "I understand that you are concerned and you have the wizarding world to think of but my son and my family is my world and you will not treat me like a recalcitrant child because you are unhappy with my decisions. I am only going to ask you one more time to leave and if you refuse; I will take my son and I will return to Japan and you can bet your wrinkled ass we won't be stepping foot in this cursed country again; prophecy or no prophecy."

Takashi then turned his back on Dumbledore before adding, "And if you so much as think of raising your wand against me I suggest you think twice and put it away before you make what would be your last mistake."

Ryuu watched the Headmaster of Hogwarts bow to his father's back and silently withdraw from the room followed by many of the other adults that had been crowded around Ryuu's bed. His eyes swept across those that remained where they were; his mother, his uncle, his godfather, Luna (the only other teen present), Satoshi, Remus, Moody, and Madam Pomfrey. His eyes lingered on Luna's troubled blue eyes before Ryuu turned his eyes back to his father to find Takashi watching him with worried golden brown eyes.

"Hey, son, how are you holding up?" Takashi asked gently; all traces of his fury from a moment ago gone.

Ryuu slipped his left hand free of Tenji's fur and out of habit signed a single word, _hurts_, before he dropped his face down onto Tenji's side as he continued to watch his father. Takashi sighed and carefully seated himself on the bed as he reached out and ran his fingers through Ryuu's hair.

"Is it physical pain or the pain of losing Shogun?" Takashi asked hesitantly as he brushed Ryuu's hair out of his eyes and studied the teen's face. Ryuu's short, keening sob answered the question and Takashi sighed softly in regret as he dropped his hand down to gently rub Ryuu's back. "I suspected that might be the case but I needed to know for certain. Are you in any physical pain at all? I can't heal your heart, only time can do that, but I can see that your other hurts are tended."

Ryuu just shrugged his shoulder listlessly, his mind still embracing his physical pain because it made the other pain hurt just a little less and he felt it earned for failing to protect Shogun. Takashi frowned in concern over the non answer, reading far more into that simple gesture than most other people would.

"Ryuu-kun, please, if you're in pain I need to know. Don't make yourself suffer more than you already have out of whatever guilt you feel over what happened."

Ryuu tilted his head a bit and glanced beyond his father to see Luna curled into his mother's side as tears slipped down her face as she continued to watch Ryuu with worry. Worry that was reflected in the eyes of everyone that was watching him and another lance of guilt cut through Ryuu's heart as he realized he was making others suffer. A small part of him gained satisfaction from that knowledge but Ryuu ruthlessly squashed the horrid thought as he rolled onto his back, pulling Tenji up onto his chest in order to keep the kneazle close. Letting his eyes fall shut as a few more tears slipped down the side of his face, Ryuu reluctantly signed a reply without bothering to open his eyes.

_Nerve damage… he… they… they hit me with the Cruciatus Curse several times… it's worse than the other two times but it doesn't hurt as much as the searing emptiness._

"I was afraid that would be the case. Madam Pomfrey already has a large supply of the antidote on hand," Takashi replied as he glanced up to meet the healer's gaze in time to see her nod before she hurried off to grab the required potion. "Is there anything else I can do?"

_Shogun, _Ryuu signed shakily as he opened his eyes to look up at his father. _What… what happened to Shogun's body?_

"We cleaned him up as best we could and placed him in stasis to preserve him until you decided on what you wanted to do with him," Takashi replied, his voice breaking slightly. "I didn't know if you'd want to bury him or cremate him. You don't have to decide anytime soon, son."

Ryuu nodded tightly and swallowed around the lump that had risen in his throat. Takashi helped him sit up a few minutes later as Madam Pomfrey returned with the perpetually bubbling pale yellow potion that would gradually repair the damage done by the pain curse. Shortly after swallowing the foul liquid, the searing pain due to the repeated exposure to the Cruciatus Curse faded leaving Ryuu feeling unsettled and still aching as the rest of his aches and pains made themselves known. A rough tongue running across his chin had him digging his fingers gently through Tenji's fur as he tilted his head to the side so he could once again see the blurry pink blob that he knew was Shinjin.

"Sleep and heal, son; I will watch over you," Takashi softly ordered as he leaned down and kissed Ryuu's forehead.

It would be another week and a half before Ryuu's emotional state became less volatile. He still swung between extreme rage and severe depression but there were finally stretches of indifference in between the two that hadn't been there after he'd first woken up. The adults that frequently watched over Ryuu during that time soon noticed that Ryuu's moods showed marked improvements whenever Luna was around. He wasn't suddenly happy and full of life the moment she walked into the room but he was remarkably less broody and less prone to lashing out at everyone when she was near.

Two weeks after Ryuu woke up that second time, Ryuu finally allowed Hatake-sensei to pull his memory from the night of the final task. He'd absolutely refused to allow anyone else anywhere near him with a wand (aside from Madam Pomfrey by necessity); even those that had sworn not to harm him or his familiars. He also adamantly refused to allow Dumbledore to view the memory until after his father and uncle had viewed it first and gave their permission for him to view it. Dumbledore had tried to protest, saying that he needed to see it first along with a group of hand picked individuals but Ryuu cut him off by speaking his first words in over eleven years (his cries, growls, and sobs not technically counting as words).

"No," Ryuu rasped; his surprisingly deep voice harsh and gravelly from his long years of silence and the strain of everything that had happened since the night of the final task. "No. I will not allow you to turn Shogun's sacrifice into something meaningless because you wish to justify your existence by crowing _his_ return to the world. Tousan and Oji will view the memory alone or I will personally destroy it and no one will ever know what happened that night except those that were there aside from me. That isn't a mere copy, it is the _original_ memory."

Dumbledore blanched over that revelation and threat as well as the burning rage reflected in Ryuu's eyes. Ryuu's gaze further hardened when he practically read the fear on Dumbledore's face as the aged wizard briefly wondered if it had been a mistake to allow Takashi to raise Harry Potter. The Headmaster of Hogwarts backed off after that and silently watched as Takashi and Hatake vanished into the swirling silver memory inside of the pensieve. Ryuu sank back into his thoughts as he prodded the empty space inside his soul before he gathered the now downy Shinjin into his palm and gently ran a single finger down the back of her head and neck as she crooned softly.

When the two men exited the pensieve they both promptly sank to the floor in shock, their bodies trembling and faces pale as they struggled against the nausea that churned their stomachs. Ryuu watched them with haunted eyes as they struggled to regain control of themselves; the emptiness inside of him cutting deeper even though he could no longer remember the details of how that emptiness came to be. Hatake was the first one to recover as he climbed back to his feet and scrubbed at his face with one hand as he tried to forget the terrible things he'd just witnessed second hand. The forty-some year old wizard then walked up to Ryuu and pulled him into his arms and simply held him tightly without saying a single word; the scattering of tears trickling down his face loudly proclaiming how much the memory had disturbed him.

"I'm so sorry, Ryuu-kun," Hatake whispered tautly when he finally relaxed his hold. "I am truly sorry. You never should have been there. It never should have happened and I am sorry that I could not prevent it."

Takashi took Hatake's place a moment later, pulling Taki with him as he held both wife and son close, words failing him as he continued to shake in fear, disgust, anger, and pain. Seeing his father reduced to such a state hurt but at the same time he felt marginally better because he knew he wasn't alone; that someone now shared the pain he'd been holding inside since that night. Ryuu glanced up in time to see his uncle pulling Kimura, Moody, Sirius, and Remus into the pensive with him while Dumbledore stood off to one side, the older wizard's anger at being denied entrance a second time impotent in the face of Hatake's glare just before he returned to the pensieve.

When the five of them returned after viewing the memory, all four of the wizards viewing the memory for the first time were severely shaken. Even Moody, the grizzled Auror was more than a little pale as he'd drained the flask of mead he wore on his hip in a single draught as he stared at Ryuu with his magical eye. Sirius had the most trouble coping with what he'd witnessed though and he immediately turned back into his animagus form, sat down on his haunches, and howled over and over again; his anger over the realization that Pettigrew had been one of those responsible paling beside his pain, grief, and guilt over everything Ryuu had seen, done, and had done to him that night.

"Will one of you please allow me to view the memory now? There are things I know about Voldemort that will help me know how it is he did what he did that night and what he is likely to do if he did indeed rise again," Dumbledore barked half in anger and half in frustration.

"I want an oath from you, right here and right now, before you set foot inside that memory," Takashi growled firmly as he finally turned his attention away from his son. "An oath swearing to reveal all that you know about that monster and every single one of his followers or suspected followers, any speculations you've drawn from what you know, and anything else that could mean the difference between defeating him and seeing him bath the world in blood. You will swear it so it includes me, my son, Kakashi, and anyone else my sons deems needs to know. I don't care what reasons you have for keeping that information to yourself before but the secrets end right here right now or you can forget ever stepping foot inside that memory."

Hatake wrote up an appropriate oath, closing any possible loopholes that would have allowed Dumbledore wiggle room if he'd drawn up the oath himself. There were allowances for sensitive information pertaining to his three political jobs (Hogwarts, Wizengamot, and ICW) as well as personal information (so long as it wasn't relevant to Voldemort or Voldemort's supporters) but even those wouldn't allow him to conveniently forget to pass along important information. He was also required to pass along the information in a timely manner; not giving him the chance to promise to tell them something 'eventually' in order to avoid giving them the information they needed to know now. Dumbledore reluctantly swore the oath before immediately slipping inside the pensieve; Hatake and Moody both following the older wizard so they could observe both him and the memory again.

They were still in the memory when Madam Pomfrey came and reluctantly released Ryuu from the infirmary; she'd done everything she could for him, the rest would just take time. He gathered up his things and dressed after his parents released him, his movements slow and mechanical as he stood lost in his thoughts. Once he was dressed, Ryuu glanced at his father before hesitantly lifting his hands to sign his question; old habits were hard to break and his throat was still sore from his earlier outburst.

_Tousan? Will you… will you help me build a funeral pyre for Shogun?_

"Of course, whenever you are ready," Takashi replied without hesitation.

Ryuu nodded, gathered up the golden bowl with Shinjin's ashes (the phoenix once more curled up in them sleeping), and slowly headed towards the door when he stopped as those who'd been in the pensieve returned and Ryuu glanced at Dumbledore and felt a flutter of rage as he noted the triumphant gleam in the man's eyes. When the bearded wizard lifted his wand and held it out towards the rune covered bowl to collect the memory, Ryuu whipped out his cherry wand and held it under the older wizard's nose.

"That belongs to me," Ryuu hissed. Ryuu then pulled out his holly wand and gathered up the memory himself and returned it to his head; his eyes closing as the pain of everything that happened in the memory sharpened as it settled back into his mind. He then opened his eyes to glare at the Headmaster one last time before he headed out of the infirmary.

"I suggest you bring the rest of the students inside the castle," Takashi stated as he paused beside the now sagging wizard. "I don't know exactly what my son has planned and if he loses control I would not wish for others to be harmed."

Takashi and the rest of those close to Ryuu then joined the teen out in the corridor where Ryuu had run into Luna, who'd latched onto him the moment she saw him. Ryuu had passed Shinjin's current nest to Satoshi so he could hold the distraught third year close, his nose buried in her hair as they stood there supporting each other. Their kneazles, perched on their shoulders, greeted each other with soft purrs and rough tongues as they groomed one another. After a few minutes, Ryuu pulled away and gently kissed her brow before he headed towards the stairs; intent on heading out to the forest where he could gather the wood he would need for Shogun's pyre.

Two hours later, there was a small pyre of holly, cherry, and oak sitting in the center of the Quidditch pitch. Lying on top of the pyre was Shogun's feathered body, minus the two feathers that Ryuu had plucked from his familiar's tail and wing and the thin circlet carved with the Dragon Ward. Also on the pyre was one of Shogun's perches, a bag of uneaten owl treats, and a dead pigeon. Ryuu's close friends and family stood a short distance away from the pyre while those students and staff that had come from the academy to support Ryuu in the tournament (and those from the Japanese Academy that had attended Hogwarts for the year) were standing up in the stands. Takashi and Hatake carefully draped a black silk square of cloth over top of the owl as Ryuu brought out his ceramic ocarina.

He stood frozen for a moment; flute poised before his lips and stared at the pyre as tears filled his eyes. Ryuu then put flute to mouth and began with a few soft calls; sad echoes of the calls Ryuu and Shogun had once exchanged on a near daily basis. When those notes died, Ryuu closed his eyes as his tears finally began to fall as he drew on his magic while thinking only of fire and focused on the image of a phoenix in his mind. As his new song filled the air, it carried his plea on the wind and after eight minutes fire phoenixes began appearing all around him with bright flashes of flames as they answered the summons. Fawkes was the last one to appear and as if his presence signaled the start of the ceremony, the phoenixes began circling around the funeral pyre as their voices rose in mournful tribute to the fallen owl; their muted song blending with the notes that Ryuu pulled from the ocarina.

The music and phoenix song lasted for close to twenty minutes before it slowly faded and the moment Ryuu dropped his flute away from his mouth, the funeral pyre and Shogun's body were instantly incinerated by the flames of the thirty or so phoenixes that had answered Ryuu's summons. When the flames died down all that remained was a small pile of fine ash that Hatake silently gathered with his wand and transferred into a small cherry wood box. The gray-haired wizard then sealed the box with a flick of his wand, pulled a second square of black silk from his robe pocket, and wrapped the box in the silk before passing it to Ryuu. Ryuu sank down to his knees and cradled the remains of his owl close as the rest of those who'd watched the ceremony slowly drifted away from the pitch until it was just Ryuu and his immediate family, including Luna, Hatake, and Satoshi.

Three days later, on the last night that the visiting students would be in the castle, Ryuu entered the Great Hall for the first time since the task and everyone fell silent as they turned to stare at him. Ryuu stared back at them impassively before he slowly made his way to the Ravenclaw table where Luna and Satoshi were both waiting for him. He'd barely taken two steps into the hall when Draco Malfoy stupidly opened his mouth and prodded the newly awakened dragon that was Ryuu's rage.

"Hey, Potter, I heard someone finally did this world a favor and put down that sorry excuse of an owl of yours," Malfoy crowed; the sadistic pleasure he found in the owl's death clearly evident in his voice.

Ryuu's response was immediate and violent; he'd jumped up onto the table where Malfoy was sitting, slid across the top of the table and dropped down beside Malfoy before abruptly dragging the irritating blonde from his seat and slamming him against the wall behind the Slytherin's table. The rest of the students and staff watched in absolute silence as Ryuu leaned forward and snarled; the soft sound reaching the farthest corner of the Great Hall. Everyone to the left of Ryuu could clearly see the pulsing glow of the scar on the side of Ryuu's face as he leaned so close to Malfoy that their noses were practically touching as furious green eyes bored into panicked grey eyes.

"Tell your father that there isn't anywhere on god's green earth or the shinigami's fiery hell that he could hide where I won't find him," Ryuu growled; the roughness of his deep voice sending shivers down the spines of everyone in the room. "I will find him and when I do I will personally skin him alive for what he did. If you and the whore that spawned you wish to live I suggest you keep your filthy mouth shut and stay out of my sight. Cross me again and I will erase the shit-stain of your existence so completely the history books won't even remember your great-great grandfather's name."

Ryuu then decked Malfoy in the face, breaking the former Slytherin's nose with an audible crunch that echoed through the hall. Ryuu then turned to glare at the rest of the students before he spoke once again.

"That goes for the rest of you whose fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and cousins serve the bastard that calls himself a dark lord. Any one bearing the mark of Voldemort will die and those of you who stand in my way will die just as painfully and just as slowly. Touch me and mine and you will beg for death before I am through with you."

No one dared move a single muscle least they draw Ryuu's attention to them as his magic saturated the entire hall with his rage. Ryuu glared for a full minute longer, letting his promise and warning fully sink in before he abruptly recalled his magic, stalked around the Slytherin table, and once again made his way towards Luna and Satoshi. As if his sliding into his seat broke the spell that had frozen the rest of those gathered in the hall, whispered murmurings broke out and many covert, resentful, and frightened glances were directed at Ryuu. Ryuu didn't care though he simply glared down at the empty plate in front of him as he struggled to contain the fury that Malfoy had provoked in him.

"I never knew my Dragon had such a foul mouth," Luna commented dreamily as she dumped a huge scoop of mashed potatoes onto Ryuu's plate. "I do hope you at least intend to wash it out before you think of kissing me again. And glaring at your plate isn't going to make the rest of your food appear."

_Gomen nasai, Luna-chan,_ Ryuu signed automatically as he slowly finished dishing up his plate.

"If he doesn't wash his mouth out with soap, his mother will most assuredly do it for him," Satoshi quipped with a snicker. "Although I must say I was highly impressed with the inventiveness of your threat; didn't think you had it in you to threaten someone so thoroughly."

Ryuu sighed before snorting softly, amused and exasperated with his long time friend. He then shook his head and proceeded to violently destroy the food on his plate with his fork before he attempted to eat what remained. Luna's dainty hand slipping into his helped center his emotions and he leaned against his girlfriend and shut out the rest of the world as he mechanically ate without tasting the food that passed through his lips. At the end of the meal, Ryuu stood up to leave when he was approached by Viktor Krum.

"It was an honor competing with you," Viktor stated in his thick accent. "I only wish I had been stronger. If you should ever need my help you have but to ask."

"Arigatou," Ryuu murmured softly as he hesitantly clasped the hand the Bulgarian held out to him. "I… I owe you a debt for the… the warning you gave me… that night."

"I should have been quicker; if I had found you sooner you would not have fallen into the trap."

Ryuu shrugged, "If I had listened to my instincts I would have walked away without trying to take the cup."

"We all did what we could that night under the belief that we weren't really in any true danger," Cedric Diggory countered as he joined them. "I owe you my life, Natsume; I won't forget that any time soon. And there is no doubt in my mind that you earned the championship; you outclassed us every step of the way and if not for things outside your control you'd have led the points in the entire time as well."

Ryuu found himself shaking Cedric's hand next and he felt a detached numbness settle in as the two wizards walked off together. Shaking his head, Ryuu turned and left the Great Hall and headed towards his parents' quarters so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone else that night. He jumped and panicked a little when Luna latched onto his arm unexpectedly but quickly calmed once he realized it was her.

Once they were inside of Takashi's apartment, Ryuu went to brush his teeth as ordered by Luna (the fourteen year old humoring his girlfriend) while Luna asked Dobby to bring them a chocolate sundae to share. On his way back out to the living room, Ryuu made a detour into his little brother's room and gathered the wide awake Kenji from his crib and nestled the six month old babe in his arms before joining his girlfriend.

His parents found the three of them on the couch twenty minutes later; Ryuu holding Kenji with one arm while Luna sat on his lap feeding the two boys chocolate ice cream. Tenji and Himiko were perched just behind Ryuu's head, the two kneazles occasionally swiping a paw out to steal some of the ice cream Luna was feeding her boyfriend while Kenji laughed and giggled. The two adults smiled as they watched the tender scene, Taki leaning into Takashi as they watched Ryuu smile for the first time in weeks, small and sad though it was.

After a few more minutes spent watching the trio, Takashi kissed Taki's cheek and pulled her away from the living room and softly suggest, "Let's leave them to their moment of peace."

* * *

><p>Two days later, Ryuu walked woodenly out into his backyard, the cherry box containing Shogun's ashes and a small hand shovel tightly clutched in his hands as he walked towards the center of the garden where he'd spent many happy hours with Shogun and Tenji over the past five years. Moving mechanically, he approached the acacia tree where Shogun had often perched in the evenings and knelt down to dig a hole between the roots of the old tree. Beside him, the cherry wood box shimmered as the silver runes of the Dragon Ward and the newly designed Preservation Ward Ryuu had created specifically to protect Shogun's remains glittered in the afternoon sunlight.<p>

When the hole was deep enough, Ryuu settled Shogun's ashes at the bottom and slowly replaced the dirt. The fourteen year old then pulled out his ocarina, the two white and brown speckled feathers secured to it from a short leather thong dancing at the end of the cords in the breeze as he lifted the instrument to his mouth. Ryuu then played a final farewell to his faithful familiar before he turned around and retreated into the house. He was met just inside the door by his honorary uncle and his godfather.

"Come, Ryuu-kun, we have work to do," Hatake ordered after he took a moment to study the stony expression on the teen's face.

Ryuu followed him without protest as they headed towards the dojo Takashi had long ago had created for Ryuu to practice in. Once inside, Ryuu calmly stood at attention as he watched his uncle and godfather impassively. He visibly flinched when Hatake pulled out the bloodstained hanbo that had been retrieved from the graveyard where Shogun had been murdered (the aurors finally tracing down the missing tournament trophy just a couple of days before they left England).

The gray-haired wizard held the short staff out to the teen but Ryuu looked away and made no move to take the proffered staff. Hatake frowned and lightly slapped Ryuu in the chest with the staff before letting go; fully expecting the teen to reflexively grab the hanbo before it hit the ground. The sound of the staff bouncing across the floor therefore caught the older wizard off guard as he stared down at the hanbo quivering at Ryuu's feet.

"I see we're going to have to do this the hard way," Hatake muttered as he rolled the staff towards him before slipping his foot beneath it and kicking it up so he could grab it without bending down.

Hanbo in hand, Hatake walked around behind Ryuu and promptly used the staff to sweep Ryuu's feet out from under him, dropping the teen (who'd not been expecting the attack) heavily onto his back before dropping the staff on top of him. When Ryuu moved to shove the staff away, Hatake placed his foot on top of Ryuu's chest and the staff and held it in place as he leaned down to address the teen.

"Either you pick up the staff or you will stay on the floor."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh," Sirius growled as he frowned at the way the other wizard was treating his godson.

"You asked to be allowed to help train the boy, Black," Hatake snapped back without taking his eyes off Ryuu. "You can either sit back and shut up while I bring him to the point where he is ready to work or you can slink off with your tail between your legs and let me do my job. Natsume-kun here isn't some wet behind the ears little boy any more and if he intends to survive the coming war he needs to grow up and stop throwing tantrums."

Ryuu narrowed his eyes and lashed out at his uncle, jerking the wizard off his feet while at the same time rolling away as the man crashed to the floor as Ryuu pushed himself back up onto his feet; the staff sitting on the floor once again. Hatake grinned ferociously as he picked himself up, grabbing the staff with one hand as he watched Ryuu glaring at him from just a few feet away. Sirius's barked laughter was ignored as Hatake then launched a counter attack, butting Ryuu in the stomach with the staff before spinning away to once again sweep Ryuu's feet out from under him.

Ryuu had expected the attack this time though and he'd moved backwards as the staff touched his stomach; minimizing the pain the blow would have caused. He'd then immediately jumped over the wide swipe before twisting half way around on his left foot as he kicked up and out with his right foot, clipping his uncle in the shoulder before jumping away to escape the longer reach of the staff. He ducked under the next swing, rolling forward and coming up inside Hatake's guard preparing to punch him in the stomach only for the older man to pin Ryuu in place as he brought the staff across Ryuu's back and pulled both the staff and Ryuu towards him.

Hatake then used one leg to sweep Ryuu's feet out from under him as he pushed him backwards over the staff, spilling Ryuu heavily onto the floor. Before Ryuu could scramble up, Hatake once more had him pinned down with the butt end of the staff digging lightly into Ryuu's sternum with just enough pressure to keep Ryuu from shoving it away. Dropping his hands flat on the floor, Ryuu brought both legs up and kicked upwards to shove Hatake off balance just enough for the staff to lose contact before he was once again up off the floor and out of reach of the hanbo.

The older man's next attack was both fast and furious as he drove Ryuu back into a corner before Ryuu managed to slip out of the intended trap by sliding between Hatake's legs and striking at his uncle from behind. The attack never landed though as Hatake grabbed Ryuu's hand and spun him around until Ryuu's arm was pinned behind his back as Hatake forced him down on his knees. Ryuu spun and brought his other arm around and chopped Hatake's right knee with the side of his left hand while pulling his right arm free only to end up pulling the heavier man down on top of him. Ryuu grunted as he felt an elbow dig into his stomach while the staff ended up half across his neck, pinning him in place while his uncle frowned down at him.

"Why are you being so damn stubborn?"

Ryuu seemed to deflate as he closed his eyes and dropped his head back onto the floor. His uncle just didn't understand that the staff was useless against a more experienced wizard. Beating the snot out of them with a stick wasn't going to end the threat they represented and having the staff hadn't saved Shogun's life. He just didn't know how to make his uncle understand.

"This isn't nap time, kid; I expect an answer when I ask you a question," Hatake ordered in exasperation as he sat up and slapped Ryuu across the stomach.

Ryuu's hands were up and dancing in reply a heartbeat later, his years of silence making the use of sign language for more natural than opening his mouth and attempting to speak his thoughts. _What's the point? The staff was useless. All it did was give me a false sense of security. It didn't save Shogun, didn't stop the rat-faced man from capturing me in the first place, and didn't do any real damage to Voldemort. What is the point of becoming dependent on a tool that isn't effective?_

"I didn't want to have to do this to you yet but you've left me with no choice," Hatake ominously announced as he glanced over his shoulder at Sirius. "Black? Did you at least bring it?"

"Yeah, yeah, keep your shirt on pretty boy; I got it," Sirius barked as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a large bowl covered with runes. "Next time a proper password to by-pass the wards would be nice… I mean, if it's not too much to ask."

"Like I'd trust a mutt like you with my passwords," Hatake snorted as reached out and took the bowl before pulling several memory vials out from his own pockets; taking the time to empty each of the twelve vials into the pensieve before returning the empty vials to his pocket. "You coming with or are you going to stay out here and whine about having to exercise your brain over a little ward?"

"Rampaging hippogriffs couldn't keep me out," Sirius snarled as he stuck his entire hand in the pool of memories and was promptly sucked inside.

"Our turn, gaki," Hatake declared as he grabbed Ryuu's hand and thrust it into the memories along with his own so that they were both pulled into the pensieve where they landed beside Sirius in an unused classroom where the gaunt wizard stood staring at an eleven year old Ryuu staring in shock at a huge troll frozen in the shattered doorway of the classroom. Hatake grabbed Ryuu firmly by the back of the shirt to prevent him from exiting the pensive as he opened his mouth and ordered, "Play memory sequence."

The three of them proceeded to watch each of Ryuu's memories of the various life-threatening encounters he'd experienced during all four of his years at Hogwarts; starting with that first memory of the troll. Every so often, Hatake would pause the memories in order to make a point or take the memory back several minutes to make Ryuu view certain sections over again; making certain that the teen watched and saw exactly what was happening in the memories. More than once Ryuu had tried to escape from the pensieve and his terrible memories only for Hatake to stop the playback each time until Ryuu ceased struggling.

Three hours later, the final memory began to play; the memory of the night Ryuu witnessed Voldemort's rebirth. When they reached the part where Ryuu was fighting for his life against the dark lord, Hatake pulled Ryuu over so they were standing right beside the dark lord where they could clearly see each and every time Ryuu landed a blow (either by spell or by staff). Just before Shinjin flashed Ryuu back to Hogwarts, Hatake paused the memory and dragged Ryuu to the dark lord's side and held him in place.

"Do you see? Can you see? You did that to one of the most powerful dark lords of the past century," Hatake ground out as he refused to allow Ryuu to look away from the frozen memory of the dark lord crumpled at the stone knight's feet. "It wasn't magic alone that reduced Voldemort to what you see here. After bragging about how you were nothing more than a little boy and how he'd end your life that night you turned around and proved yourself to be more than a match for the vaunted dark lord."

The three of them left the pensive at that point and Hatake finally released Ryuu as their feet hit the floor once more. Ryuu swayed on his feet for a moment before he dropped to the floor bonelessly, his entire body shaking from the emotional trauma of being forced to relive his worst memories. His pseudo uncle stared down at him for several minutes before the wizard walked over and picked up the hanbo Ryuu had rejected earlier. Hatake then returned to Ryuu's side and planted on end of the staff on the floor beside Ryuu with a sharp snap that made Ryuu flinch.

"Take it; accept the limitations it represents and then shatter those limitations," Hatake ordered.

Ryuu slowly looked up to stare at his uncle, his green eyes haunted and hurting. The teen then focused on the bloodstained staff in Hatake's hands and the tormented look in his eyes gradually shifted to determination as he reached out and wrapped one hand around the shaft of the hanbo. When Ryuu looked up to meet his uncle's mismatched eyes once more he was a bit surprised to see pride and satisfaction in their depths.

In that moment Ryuu finally understood that the afternoon's lesson hadn't been about getting him to accept the staff; it had been about Ryuu accepting himself and acknowledging his weaknesses. Gripping the staff tightly, Ryuu shifted so that he was sitting on his knees before he swung out with the staff and knocked his uncle off his feet.

"Wakaru, oji," Ryuu rasped as he climbed to his feet.

From that day forward, Ryuu spent more than seventy percent of his time in training; even after he returned to the academy for his sixth summer. On the first day of classes that summer, Ryuu had actually shocked his instructors when he'd given them tentative verbal answers instead of writing out or signing his replies as he'd done in previous summers. Even his fellow students (except those that had been at Hogwarts at the end of the year) were shocked repeatedly during the first few weeks of classes each time they heard the formally silent teen speak.

Each day he was up by four-thirty in the morning and spent two and a half hours in martial arts lessons; sparring against multiple opponents using both magic and hand to hand combat. He was also being taught to wield a set of wakizashi blades, practicing with a pair of wooden blades in the beginning until he grew comfortable and competent enough not to risk injuring himself. After that he would turn back two hours and spent an hour and a half doing target practice; Hatake and Sirius looking to increase his casting speed, stamina, and accuracy using both moving and stationary targets.

After breakfast, he'd attend his second session of Enchantment classes where he was working on creating a staff that would send a jolt of electricity through whatever it touched. The idea was to create a magical taser that would stun or incapacitate an opponent when they were struck with it. His initial plans called for a hanbo to have both ends capped with silver or copper since both metals were highly conductive. The wood shaft, which was not very conductive, would theoretically protect the wielder from being shocked as well. The difficulty would lie in producing the voltage in order to create the charge, being able to control the amount of voltage released in each charge, and having the charge release the moment it came into contact with the target. At least this year Ryuu had a better understanding of Arithmancy which would allow him a greater chance of success.

After Enchantment, Ryuu would head to his Advanced Arithmancy class which had replaced Cultural Studies (which he'd completed the prior summer). He used the period to further research and adjust his calculations to create what he called his Shock Staff (for lack of a better term). Right after that Ryuu would spend his first study hour working with a speech therapist who was helping him get used to speaking as well as helping him with his pronunciation since previously there'd been no way to verify if Ryuu was saying various words correctly.

When those remedial lessons were over, he would turn back another two hours and join Luna for their second year of French lessons followed by another study session and allow himself to relax for the two hours they spent together. Once French was over he'd spend an hour working on the various assignments he'd been given before joining his friends for lunch. When the meal was over Ryuu would head to his Warding class where he was working on creating the ward scheme that would be integrated into his Shock Staff. That was in addition to attempting to improve upon the Dragon Ward to protect against other elements in addition to fire and researching various rune combinations that would protect against spell fire (specifically dark spells, curses, and the Unforgivables).

His next class was an Introduction to Battle Magic, taught by Headmaster Yamamoto and the Department Head of the Samurai no Mahoujutsu Division of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu; Ashikaga Daisuke. Battle Magic was an intensive two hours of extensive training that focused on strategy, sword work, and wide range destructive spells intended to destroy multiple targets. The first forty minutes of class would be spent playing strategic games such as Go, Shougi, Chess, and Mahjong with Headmaster Yamamoto.

In the beginning, Ryuu had been skeptical about what he could learn from playing games but after a week or so he began taking those sessions seriously as Yamamoto taught him to see and recognize patterns, map out viable strategies, and predict the future based up existing patterns. The aged wizard also taught Ryuu politics, management, made certain he was up to date on current events in the wizarding world, and how to fight more effectively using words and how to pick apart someone else's words to find the hidden meanings within what was said or more importantly in what wasn't said. Ryuu excelled at the latter, his years of silence giving him a greater understanding of how to read a person's body language and facial expressions.

When his time with Yamamoto was over, Ashikaga-shishou (which is how the man commanded Ryuu to address him) would take Ryuu off campus to the Samurai training facility where he'd set him working on his sword work on Mondays and Wednesdays and working on spell work on Tuesdays and Thursdays. By the time Ryuu was delivered back to the school, he was usually physically, magically, and emotionally exhausted from the hour of intensive training.

Thankfully right after he returned, he had an hour to sit back and relax while working on his assignments before he went to his Master Music class where he had approached his instructor and asked the man if he could learn both how to manipulate the elements and use the music to heal instead of just focusing on one aspect or the other this year. The wizard agreed on the condition that Ryuu did not fall behind in either lesson and that he would not attempt to use the healing magic until he'd retained a sufficient grasp of the basic concept and demonstrated adequate control of the magic involved.

After Music, Ryuu would turn back yet another two hours and spend another hour finishing up the last of his assignments before meeting with Kimura for an hour to increase his spell repertoire; focusing on healing spells, communication spells, magical transportation spells, locator spells (both to track down someone he was looking for and to determine where he was should he end up being kidnapped via portkey again), and an assortment of useful everyday spells that could help him in a pinch. Ryuu would then eat supper and spend the rest of the evening preparing for the next day's classes and meditating before turning back several hours in order to rest.

Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays started pretty much the same way, with Satoshi putting him through his paces in aikido pushing him towards earning his second degree black belt. After breakfast he'd then spend the next four hours working on his non-magical classes, pushing to finish up his final year of high school so he wouldn't have to worry about those classes during the coming term at Hogwarts. He fully expected to take (and pass) his high school exit exam in mid-August just before he was due to return to England.

Immediately after lunch, Ryuu would spend two more hours doing physical training; working to increase his physical strength, flexibility, endurance, and speed. Once he finished with that he'd hit the books again until supper time, alternating between reading ahead for his magical classes and working on his non-magical assignments. And finally his evenings were spent practicing his music, mediating, and spending time with his girlfriend, his friends, and his family.

By the end of the summer the changes in Ryuu were fairly obvious if you knew where to look. Physically, he'd grown another two inches (bringing him up to a whopping five foot five inches which still left him the shortest amidst his age group), his shoulders had broadened and filled out, and he'd gained about two stone. His voice had also smoothed out as he slowly began speaking regularly (if still rarely); loosing the roughness that had been the result of years of not speaking, the damage done while under the Cruciatus Curse, and the shattering of the ward that had silenced him. When Ryuu did speak, his voice was deep and soft; a low baritone that seemed rather incongruent coming from his slender and short form. On the flip side, when Ryuu's ire was provoked his voice turned hard and sharp; his tone cutting just as much as his words.

Mentally and emotionally, Ryuu now exuded far more confidence than he had in the past and he no longer experienced violent mood swings (though his temper was still easily roused). He still grieved for the lost Shogun but the biting emptiness that was a constant reminder had been filled in part by the presence of Shinjin and Tenji; their bonds having grown stronger through their mutual grief over the loss of their third family member. Luna's constant presence also brought him comfort as did his parents, grandparents, and brother. Another reflection of the changes he'd gone through emotionally was the new form his patronus took midway through the summer when it physically morphed from Neko-chan into the near perfect image of a silvery Shogun right down to its smaller size.

On Ryuu's (and Neville's) fifteenth birthday, his parents took him and his friends to Yomiuri Land for the first time in two years. It would be the first time his friends would see his newest scars which included the two dozen ovals in random rows of three on his right thigh and calf, the starburst pattern that wrapped from the left side of his chest around to the left side of his back from Pettigrew's blasting curse, the long scar on the underside of his left arm that ran from elbow to armpit, and the thin, white line that snaked across the length of the gray fang scar on his back from Voldemort's dark cutting curse. It was a sobering sight and a harsh reminder that this past year had taken a physical toll on Ryuu in addition to the mental and emotional toll.

At the end of the summer, Ryuu's accomplishments included a completed pair of Shock Staves (he'd used his hanbo and replacement bo to create them), a portable pensieve made from a hand thrown ceramic teacup, the titles of Elemental and Shaman, his second degree black belt in both ju jitsu and aikido, and his high school diploma. He'd also been given a magically reinforced pair of wakizashi swords (and the permit that allowed him to carry them on his person without restriction (aside from the obvious one of not using them to commit murder). The swords had twin dragons etched along both sides of the two blades and the hilts carved in the likeness of the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the blade extending out of the dragons' open mouths. He named one of them Ikioi and the other one Imi Nichi.

He had also picked up the patents to three more unique wards, bringing his total number of patents up to six for the concept of the portable ward, his Portable Rat Ward (which did not work on rat animagi), the Dragon Ward, the Preservation Ward, the Taser Ward (for the Shock Staves), and the Elemental Ward (which protected an object from a number of destructive elements such as fire (or extreme heat), electricity (lightning), ice (or extreme cold), and cutting winds (useful in sand storms and hurricanes or tornadoes). It could also repel water but wouldn't stop the object from being submerged completely and included both the self repairing and the self cleaning schemes.

He'd also taught two of the Ward Masters that worked for the academy how to create the Dragon Ward (as per the contract he'd signed during the previous year after his father had gone over the document with Bongledash) and signed a contract to provide the Romanian Dragon Reserve with uniforms protected with the Dragon Ward over the next two years (since he'd have to create them individually by hand).

All in all, it had been a busy summer and, according to the rumors flying rampantly through the wizarding world, it was shaping up to be another busy and unpleasant year at Hogwarts.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Gaki – brat<br>Gomen nasai - I'm sorry  
>Ikioi – force, energy, spirit, life, or power; among other things<br>Imi Nichi – unlucky day/death/anniversary or a day of fasting and purification  
>Oji – uncle<br>Wakaru – I understand

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Ryuu's coping as best he can, Dumbledore is looking to manipulate the situation and second guessing his earlier decisions, and Takashi took offense on Ryuu's behalf. Kakashi is his usual prickish but caring self and Sirius is trying to find his place in Ryuu's family and still resents Kakashi on some levels. Next chapter will be the start of Ryuu's fifth year. _

_Before I go there is one more thing I'd like to say in response to a review that was complaining because I'm not going into details over Ryuu's struggles with his magic. This story is over 400,000 words and there is only so much I can add into the story without it growing ridiculously long and dragging on and on. I wrote what I wrote because I focused on what I thought was the more important points. _

_The other stuff is relegated to flashbacks and in story explanations because it was just too much to fit in and bogged the story down to the point where I couldn't move on with the story because I was obsessing over details. Sure, I could have shown more about Ryuu struggling with his magic; but what was the point? He's already struggled with other things; do you really need to see all of his struggles? Then again, if I did show all of his struggles other reviewers would complain that I pick on him too much. And yes, that has happened with other stories of mine. _

_So anyway… the point is that I am sorry if any of my readers are disappointed in the way I chose to write this story but I am more than satisfied with how it turned out because it was the first novel length FanFiction I wrote that didn't turn into a three part series. Anywho… next chapter will be up later this week. ~ Jenn_


	38. A Time and Place for Everything

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 37: There is a Time and Place for Everything; Even Pranks<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>September 1995 ~ October 1995<em>

Ryuu stepped down from the train and turned to offer his hand to Luna who accepted it with a small smile as she alighted on the ground beside him. He then tucked her arm into the crook of his elbow and gently steered her towards the thestral drawn carriages that would take them up to the castle. After he handed her up into the carriage (passing her the half grown Shinjin), Ryuu walked over to the thestral that was hitched to the carriage and stared at it for a long moment as it turned to meet his gaze while he waited for the rest of their friends to join them. Tenji, from his perch on Ryuu's shoulder, hissed and growled as the thestral reached out towards Ryuu with its head but Ryuu calmed the kneazle with a touch before he reached out towards the magical youkai.

The demonic looking horse gently nipped at Ryuu's fingers with its ice cold lips before it nuzzled Ryuu's palm and let out a sound that was halfway between a whinny and a whine. Stepping just a bit closer, Ryuu moved his hand up so that it was resting on the thestral's long nose; the cold, scaly feel of its skin so very different from the horse it vaguely resembled. _Cold as death_, Ryuu thought as he moved his hand up to rub the thestral between the eyes before stroking its face down to its nose. When Ryuu dropped his hand back to his side, the thestral turned and head butted him gently in the chest until Ryuu reached up and scratched it behind the ear.

"Ryuu! Come on, everyone else is already inside the coach," Neville called as he leaned out of the carriage to see what was taking Ryuu so long.

"Alright," Ryuu absently called back as he gave the thestral a final pat on the side of the neck before walking to the door of the carriage and climbing up inside where he settled down beside Luna.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Luna asked as she leaned against Ryuu, her pale hair tangling a bit around the silver prefect's badge pinned to Ryuu's chest.

Ryuu shrugged since he wasn't certain exactly what he'd been hoping to find. In truth, he'd been drawn to the thestral because Shogun had loved to tease the demonic horses and because of the close association thestrals shared with death. Something Ryuu had in common with the magical youkai; seeing as how he'd killed a troll, a teacher, a basilisk, over a hundred dementors, and a Death Eater. He'd also come close to death himself (or something just as bad) nineteen times over the course of his first four years at Hogwarts. Only once during those four years had Ryuu chosen to put his life on the line (the night he'd gone after the person releasing the basilisk) while the other eighteen times he'd either been in the wrong place at the wrong time or he'd been specifically targeted.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Luna advised. "I'm still looking for the crumple-horned snorkack, too. Daddy heard of a reported sighting over the summer and he plans to visit Finland to search for their breeding grounds himself this fall. He promised to send me pictures if he finds them."

Ryuu smiled fondly at his girlfriend's attempt to cheer him up and slipped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. Tenji purred in approval as he dropped to Ryuu's lap so he could cuddle with Himiko while Shinjin plaintively chirruped her request to be returned to Ryuu's shoulder; the phoenix not quite grown enough to fly up herself since her flight feathers were only just now finally starting to grow out. Luna obliged the phoenix before curling into Ryuu's side as they passed through the gates onto the castle grounds.

All too soon their carriage pulled up in front of the main entrance to the castle and the six friends climbed down and made their way into the castle; Ryuu giving the thestral a soft pat as he walked passed the demonic horse. They were met just inside the door by Nyanko-sensei who tugged Ryuu off to one side the moment he entered the castle and the other five tagged along out of curiosity to see what the cat wanted. Once they were completely alone, Nyanko sat back and looked up as he addressed the teen.

"_Natsume sent me to warn you_," Nyanko bluntly stated in Japanese. "_There is a woman teaching here this year that is looking to discredit you any way she can. She's a right nasty piece of work and Natsume wants you to avoid her as best you can. You'll recognize her the moment you see her._"

Ryuu nodded his thanks before the six of them turned and slipped into the hall just minutes before Professor McGonagall led in this year's first year students for the sorting ceremony. As he slipped into his seat at the Ravenclaw table, Ryuu glanced up at the staff table and had to fight to hide a grimace as he recognized the short, toad-like woman sitting beside Dumbledore. She'd been present at both of the Malfoy trials during his third year, that night in the Infirmary when Pettigrew had kidnapped him, and again during his godfather's trial during the summer after his third year. From what Ryuu remembered about her she had a caustic tongue, loved to twist your words, and was a sycophant devoted to the former Minister of Magic; Cornelius Fudge.

Ryuu shifted his gaze to the first years as the toad woman shifted to look in his direction, not wanting to catch her eye or let her know he'd been staring (borderline glaring) at her. He in turn could feel her eyes glaring at him along with Snape's, who'd still not gotten over his issues with Ryuu's birth father or forgiven Ryuu for the rather painful lesson he'd delivered to the unhygienic man the previous year and it took all of Ryuu's willpower not to glare at them in return. As Ryuu clapped for the newest Ravenclaw, he wondered what class the woman was teaching and if there was any way he could get out of it in a similar way he'd gotten out of Snape's potion classes (minus the part where she threatens his familiars).

After the feast, the toady woman had the gall to stand up and interrupt Dumbledore's speech about the school rules. And no matter how angry he was with the Headmaster over what happened at the end of the Tournament, Ryuu would never disrespect him in front of the entire student body; in front of his friends, family, and select members of the staff, yes, but not in front of everyone else. Yet, that was exactly what the woman had just done.

As he listened to the woman's diatribe, Ryuu grimaced in disgust over her promises to stop progress and move the school back into the dark ages so as to favor the purebloods over the rest of the magical population. Oh, she didn't come right out and say it but that was ultimately what her goals were. Ryuu had been tempted to get up and walk out of the Great Hall during her speech just to see how many people would follow him but figured it was best to know all of her goals so he'd know what to keep watch for over the course of the year.

When the announcements were over, Ryuu stood up and slipped his hand into Luna's as they headed for the exit only to hear someone calling his name; or more specifically, calling his birth name. Ryuu's nostrils flared as that gratingly girlish voice of Delores Umbridge loudly called after him and he was so tempted to turn around and hex the hag for daring to call him that. He ignored her though, he hadn't actually answered to that name in almost eight years; he wasn't about to change that for some self-important ministry witch.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter! Mr. Potter, stop!"

"Excuse me, Umbridge-_san_," Hatake's voice cut out over the toady's voice, the stress he placed on the honorific turning it into something more along the lines of an insult rather than the respectful form of address it was. "I'm not certain if you've read through your class lists yet but there is no Potter registered at Hogwarts."

"Nonsense, Mr.…?" Umbridge fished before she plowed right on. "I just saw Mr. Potter and the rude child simply ignored me. He has absolutely no manners, I tell you. Not that I can say it is unexpected, he was raised by _muggles _aft…"

"A word of advice, Umbridge-_san_," Hatake interrupted a second time. "I suggest that you forget that anyone named Harry Potter ever existed and that you never again attempt to insult the family that raised him or you will regret provoking the slumbering dragon. If you don't believe me, you should ask Snape-_san_ about the lesson he was taught last year when he refused to do the same thing. Of course, if you do ask him he may hex you himself for bringing up that rather unpleasant memory."

Hatake then left the woman spluttering indignantly as he whistled a jaunty tune and followed after Ryuu to inform the teen of his new daily schedule. Unsurprisingly, Hatake ran into Ryuu and Luna standing in the shadows just a few feet away from the door; the teen had hung back to listen to every word. And there was no doubt that he'd heard every word; the look of irritation on his face clearly indicated that he'd heard and taken offense to Umbridge's slur against his parents.

"Come, Natsume-kun, we must discuss your schedule for the year," Hatake ordered softly as he strode by the couple without slowing down.

Ryuu and Luna fell into step beside him after glancing back in the direction of the Great Hall to make certain the toad woman wasn't watching. The three of them remained silent as they wove their way up and down staircases and through the corridors until they reached Hatake's quarters across from Ravenclaw Tower. The older wizard ushered them into the outer room once he'd checked to be certain no one was watching (it wouldn't do to allow anyone to try spreading rumors of inappropriate behavior yet again).

"Have a seat you two," Hatake instructed as he grabbed a roll of parchment off his table along with large jewelry box. He tossed the jewelry box to Ryuu who caught it in one hand and opened it to reveal a slightly more advanced time turner than the one he'd used previously. He looked up and gave his uncle a puzzled look. "That one, unlike the previous ones you've been issued, will allow you to turn up to eight hours at a time instead of the usual four like the smaller turner you're usually issued. That one is the standard instructor level time turner and the only reason you are being allowed to use it (aside from the fact that you will need it this year) is because Yamamoto-shishou trusts that you won't abuse the privilege."

"Wakaru, oji."

"This is your revised schedule; I spent the last two days making adjustments on it with Flitwick-senpai."

Ryuu accepted the parchment and unrolled it so that Luna could look at it with him while he studied the new schedule. He noted that his mornings started out as they always did at Hogwarts with his two hour morning sessions, this year he'd be spending them with Kimura-sensei once again; continuing to increase the number of spells he could both cast and recognize on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays while Tuesdays and Thursdays would be spent on speech therapy in Japanese, English, and Latin. He'd then turn back two hours so he could get ready for the day and eat breakfast.

Right after breakfast, he'd have Herbology on Mondays and Wednesdays, Defense on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Care of Magical Creatures on Fridays. He'd then have a two hour study period in order to work on the morning's class assignments before he'd turn back four hours and use the portal (Yamamoto had moved it into the dojo before he left at the end of the previous year) to return to Japan for his Battle Magic lessons with Yamamoto-shishou for an hour on his strategy and political lessons before he'd spend two and a half hours with Ashikaga-shishou on the samurai training grounds. He'd then return to Hogwarts in time for lunch.

After lunch he had another two hours of classes; this time Charms on Mondays and Wednesdays, Transfiguration on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Potions back in Japan on Fridays (Ryuu was still refusing to attend any of Snape's classes since he'd learned so much more from the Japanese instructor during the previous year). He'd then turn back time another two hours and spend one hour working on class assignments before heading to N.E.W.T. level Arithmancy classes (taken with the sixth years this year after having taken the advanced course during the summer session).

His last class of the day was physical training with Hatake for two hours before supper. After supper he had another hour to finish up any assignments he hadn't already completed before he would be meeting with Professor Babbling for an hour on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for Intermediate Warding lessons and Professor Flitwick on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Advanced Enchantment lessons.

That left him an hour of time to himself as well as an hour to spend meditating before he was required to turn in for the night. He was to sleep for eight hours, wake up and head down to his parents' quarters and turn back another eight hours to rest and sleep off the added hours before starting the day all over again. His weekends would have a completely different schedule as he would not be allowed to turn any time on Saturdays and Sundays due to adding sixteen hours to each day Monday through Friday.

"I'm surprised you've left me time to breathe," Ryuu sniped half in jest as he grimaced at the schedule in his hands.

"If you feel you have too much free time in that schedule, let me know and I'll fix it," Hatake quipped right back as he smirked at the teen. "All joking aside, you're going to be busy all year. Dumbledore and Yamamoto-shishou both believe that Voldemort will spend the year building up his forces and laying low before striking hard and fast. Dumbledore also has reliable information that Voldemort will be trying to obtain the copy of the prophecy from the Department of Mysteries."

"What prophecy?" Luna asked as she furrowed her brow and glanced between Ryuu and Hatake.

"You haven't told her?" Hatake asked in surprise. "I thought for sure you'd have told her."

"Otousan asked me not to tell anyone when he first told me about the prophecy," Ryuu replied softly as he looked away from Luna and played with Tenji's tail. "I never told anyone; not even Satoshi-kun."

"It wasn't that he didn't want you to tell anyone there was a prophecy," Hatake corrected gently. "He just didn't want you to tell everyone what the prophecy said."

_I didn't want to worry anyone,_ Ryuu signed without looking up, his discomfort over the topic apparent with his intentional silence. _Besides, none of them are stupid they'd have guessed what the prophecy said and been close enough to the truth that it would have made them targets._

"True… but I doubt that they would have gone blabbing about it to the world even if they did. Moot point now, I will leave you to discuss what you will on the topic with Luna (with some discretion) another time. Right now, you need to know that Voldemort will most likely attempt to retrieve it."

_Why not remove it before he can get a hold of it and leave a fake in its place?_ Ryuu asked as he completely ignored Hatake's suggestion to broach the subject of the prophecy with his girlfriend.

"Because he already knows half of it and would realize it was a fake the moment he played it."

_So? If the original is gone who cares? Or better yet, make the fake match the portion of the prophecy he already knows and feed him a line of bull in the rest. Why take a chance of allowing the real thing to fall into his hands at all? It's stupid. Even if the intent is to use it as bait; there's a hundred ways any trap could fall apart before it is sprung and if that happens then we lose a tactical advantage._

"The problem is that only one of you can remove the prophecy from the shelf," Hatake revealed tightly.

"How is that a problem? It wouldn't take much to walk in there, grab the original, and swap it out with the fake," Ryuu asked out loud as his brow furrowed in confusion.

"The problem is that you are supposed to be in school, that the Ministry is not pleased with you disappearing after what happened at the end of last year, and we've got a Ministry flunky in Hogwarts watching both you and Dumbledore. Things aren't as bad as they would be if Fudge was still in control; but there are enough unmarked supporters out there that they are stirring up discontent and trying to discredit you as an unbalanced attention seeking teen. The only reason your name isn't being dragged through the mud in the papers is because of your father and your family lawyer."

Ryuu snorted and leaned back against the couch as he crossed his arms and peered at his uncle over the top of his glasses with a pointed look that had the older wizard frowning and shifting uncomfortably in his seat. The teen was obviously less than impressed with the reasons (or rather excuses) about why the prophecy couldn't be switched out.

"Are those your excuses for not eliminating the prophecy or were they Dumbledore's?" Ryuu demanded when his uncle didn't say anything further. "Because those are the stupidest reasons I have ever heard for not doing something."

"How would you do it then? What kind of plan would you use? How would you go about it without leaving behind any clue as to what you've done?"

"First I'd need the blue prints for the Ministry and a list of the security measures installed to prevent a person from using stealth magic within the building," Ryuu mused as he pulled a pen out of his pocket and ripped off a section of blank parchment from his schedule. "Those aren't really necessary but they'd just make it easier. I would go in during the day, when I'm supposed to be in class because no one would expect me to actually miss class. Getting into the proper department would be difficult unless we had an inside contact but not impossible. The last thing would be to swap out the prophecies after disrupting any monitoring spells and slip back out."

"How would you secure your alibi?"

"If done right, it would only take between two and five hours," Ryuu replied softly as he glanced up at his uncle.

"You'd be breaking the law and your oath."

"No, I wouldn't. The contract I signed states that I will not to use it to commit a crime or for frivolous reasons," Ryuu countered without hesitation. "This would be neither; since it is not against the law for me to view or take a prophecy linked to my name and preventing Voldemort from getting his hands on the prophecy is far too important to be considered frivolous."

"I don't like it… too many variables and possible ways for it to go wrong," Hatake muttered as he frowned down at his shoes.

_I never said it was a perfect plan or it didn't need any work, I'm making it up on the fly here based upon what I know,_ Ryuu pointed out as he fell back to using sign language as he grew tired of speaking. _All we'd have to do is take a bit of time to iron out the details, dig up a little more information, and pick a day to do it. We'd need to prepare the fake prophecy ahead of time as well. Moody used to work for the Ministry; he'd know a bit about the security I bet and he'd be game for pulling one over on the Dark Lord as would my godfather. The man's insane but he's a genius when it comes to getting in and out of places he's not supposed to be while setting up pranks; especially when Remus is the mastermind behind the basic plan._

"Time-frame?"

_No later than Halloween_, Ryuu replied after a moment's consideration. _Enough time to plot, plan, and gather information but soon enough that Voldemort will likely not have tried to get it himself yet._

"Alright, _if_ Lupin, Black, and Moody will help us put together a plan and can provide us with blueprints and security protocols for the Ministry's; I will help you pull this off," Hatake stated once he saw that Ryuu was serious. When he saw the vicious half smile creep across Ryuu's face, Hatake felt a brief twinge of regret and trepidation over agreeing to the plan before he grew curious as there were few things (and fewer people) that could inspire a need for cold-hearted retribution in his honorary nephew. "What else are you planning, Ryuu-kun?"

"I'm going to mess with Voldemort's mind," Ryuu stated softly as the smile grew a little larger and began to hold a promise of pain. "I'm going to have him questioning his own mind and the loyalty of his followers."

"You've got an hour and a half before we need to go back to get you to the tower in time," Hatake stated slowly as he leaned forward. "What exactly do you have in mind?"

Ryuu glanced at Luna for a moment as she looked up at him with acceptance, understanding, and absolute faith and his smile grew tender as he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. He then sat up and grabbed the scrap of parchment he'd ripped from his schedule earlier and pulled the coffee table in front of the couch closer as he gestured for his uncle to join the two of them on the couch. He then wrote out the prophecy that linked his fate to Voldemort; separating what Voldemort knew from what he didn't. Luna's soft gasp and small hands gripping his arm let him know she had already guessed at what the fourth line meant and he leaned over and kissed her temple and whispered soft reassurances that he wouldn't go down without a fight. He then skipped an inch of parchment and wrote out another seven lines before rewriting the final line of the original prophecy.

_And they shall face each other three times in battle;  
>The babe to defeat the man at the height of his reign<br>The child to defeat the vessel of the shade in magic's stone house  
>And the teen to defeat the man reborn on the bones of the dead<em>

_Three battles fought and three battles lost mark the end for the Dark Lord  
>Thrice vanquished, the Dark Lord shall fall to his armies as they turn on him<br>The followers turned scavengers seeking to claim his power for their own  
>The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies<em>

"Sugoi," Hatake whispered as he sat back and allowed a smirk to cross his face as he glanced up at Ryuu and added, "If he buys it… If you get a credible actress or actor to provide the recording… it would be brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"Why bother trying to find an actress when we have access to the original seer?" Ryuu asked with a smirk.

"Nani?"

_I spent a couple of weeks researching all of the electives offered at Hogwarts during the second half of my second year, before everything happened with the Chamber and the basilisk_, Ryuu signed to rest his voice again. _I was curious about Divination because Dumbledore suggested it to me and it was the one class that wasn't offered during the summer sessions at the Academy. _

_In nineteen-seventy-nine the Board of Governors signed off on an official writ to discontinue offering Divination and it was counter-signed by Dumbledore as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and an American wizard by the name of Nathan Daniels who was, at the time, the Deputy Mugwump of the I.C.W. and Dumbledore's alternate whenever there was a conflict of interest between Dumbledore's many positions. That order allowed Hogwarts to drop the O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams for Divination without being penalized for failing to maintain the international standards. Yet, despite the fact that everything was set for Divination to fade into history, the class is still offered today. _

_I wondered why so I researched the instructor, one Sybil Patricia Trelawney; the great-great-granddaughter of the famous seer Cassandra Trelawney. She was interviewed in May of nineteen-eighty, hired on the spot, and immediately moved into the castle before the new school year. She never leaves the castle, rarely ever leaves her tower, and is (according to castle scuttlebutt) nothing but a fraud. She lives to torment the students with false warnings of death and cheep self-fulfilling prophecies that she makes up on the spot. So why would Dumbledore hire her if he planned to drop the class (and had approval to do so) if she was completely without the talent? _

"Unless she gave a true prophecy just before, during, or after the interview… the time frame matches since you were born later that year," Hatake finished. "Logically, it would make the most sense. So why didn't you take the class?"

_I thought it was a joke and if it wasn't I didn't want to risk her revealing me through some crazy bit of twisted insight so I went with my original choices instead._

"How would we get her to cooperate?"

Ryuu smirked as he glanced at his uncle and softly declared, "She's about your age, extremely lonely, and has a penchant for drinking cooking sherry."

"I am not going to seduce another teacher!" Hatake exclaimed indignantly.

"Who said anything about seducing her?" Luna inquired dreamily. "My Dragon was just stating facts; unless… you unconsciously want to find someone to seduce and that's why you automatically protested."

"He does read those little orange books, just like Hatake Kakashi from the Naruto manga. Makes you wonder," Ryuu mused as his smirk grew wider as Hatake blushed bright red and began muttering dire threats under his breath even as he proclaimed that they were _not_ those kind of books. That made both teens laugh for several minutes before Ryuu turned serious once more. "Really, all I meant was that she'd probably be willing to help us if we flattered her a bit, spent some time listening to her, and offered to provide her with a bit of her vice if she helped us with a project. Tell her we thought she was the most mystical of the staff and we need a dramatic voice for a recording based runes project."

"That might work…"

"Of course, if you'd rather seduce her we won't stop you… just please promise me you won't mention any details," Ryuu added as he snickered at the look on his uncle's face.

Hatake growled playfully before he chased Ryuu around the room several times, the forty-some year old wizard reveling in the sound of Ryuu's laughter echoing through the small apartment; a sound that had been distinctly missing in past years. After a while they settled back down and ironed out a few more wrinkles in Ryuu's plans and made a list of the things they would need in order to pull off the switch and create the fake. Ryuu was originally going to offer to be the one to approach Trelawney about helping out with a project but Luna said she was the better choice since she was actually taking Ancient Runes that year and would therefore appear more authentic.

Ryuu would still be the one to create the recording device (once he knew what to model it after) and do the rune work on it (while teaching Luna what he was doing so she could do the project for real with a different test subject). Hatake then took them back two turns, to just before they were due to arrive from supper, and he sent the two teens to their tower before he headed down to the dojo to use his extra time to contact Lupin and Black about infiltrating the Ministry to get more information.

Ryuu was glad for the two day weekend right after they arrived; he would have hated to be shoved right into classes with Umbridge so soon. It also meant that he got extra time to read ahead for his coming classes and extra time to spend with Luna since he didn't have any assignments that needed to be done yet. He was hounded by more than one fan girl because they also had free time but he found that staring at them and not saying a word would drive them off rather quickly; except for Ginny Weasley. She'd returned the previous year but Ryuu hadn't really noticed her because she was now two years behind him (she'd been held back a year because she'd missed what would have been her second year due to the dementor induced relapse she'd suffered from) and he'd had the tournament to worry about.

It probably wouldn't have been too bad except for the fact that now that she knew he was Harry Potter, she was one of those who just didn't get that Harry Potter wasn't who he was. Half of it stemmed from the stories her mother had spoon fed her through her childhood and the other half was because he'd gone to 'rescue' her during the Chamber of Secrets hullabaloo during his second year. Never mind that in actuality he'd gone to catch her in the act of releasing the monster not because she was a damsel in distress or because he was acknowledging 'his feelings' for her. Her mother hadn't helped the situation after Ryuu had ended the threat of the basilisk and the diary that had possessed her by pushing the girl towards Ryuu.

It got worse after both mother and daughter discovered his past and the girl stopped fighting her mother's insistence that she chase after Ryuu. Fred and George thought it hilarious in the beginning but even they begin to see that Ginny had some real issues in the way she behaved around Ryuu and Luna. The girl refused to accept that Ryuu was quite happily content to date Luna or call him by his legal and proper name. Ryuu had been tempted to hex the girl but didn't out of respect for the twins; she was their sister after all. The youngest Weasley brother was nearly as troublesome; constantly attempting to draw Ryuu into goofing off with him or demanding that he declare the rather loud and obnoxious boy his best friend.

Ron also constantly picked on and belittled Neville, this year the bullying got worse because Neville had been given the prefect badge that Weasley felt rightfully belonged to him. Neville was a saint when it came to dealing with the annoying kid; Ryuu would have snapped long ago and put the red-head in his place if he'd had to deal with even half the things Neville did. Neville's response, when Ryuu told him that, was to say that it paid to be friends with Fred and George and that the twins could humiliate their brother far faster and with better results than he could. That had made Ryuu laugh.

Unfortunately, the weekend didn't last and Umbridge didn't even wait until Ryuu was inside her classroom before she started hounding him. She'd been waiting to pounce on him the moment he stepped into the Great Hall for breakfast on that first Monday morning.

"Mr. Potter!"

Ryuu showed no outward signs of having heard the annoying witch as he walked towards his usual seat at the Ravenclaw table without slowing down or acknowledging the woman. He'd nearly reached his seat when the short, squat woman pushed herself in front of him, forcing him to stop walking or run her over.

"Mr. Potter you will acknowledge me when I am talking to you," Umbridge ordered imperiously in her ridiculous little girl's voice. "The weapons you are carrying are against school policy and I will need to confiscate them."

Ryuu simply pulled out the permit he'd been given that allows him to carry his swords and staves with him no matter where he went and held it up just out of reach of the witches clutching fingers (he was thankfully five inches taller than her and had a longer reach) so she could read it but not take it. She tried setting it on fire, claiming it was not valid in this country, only to splutter when nothing happened to the permit; Ryuu had applied his Elemental Ward to the document (to all of his certificates, titles, and other important documents really) the moment he'd finished perfecting the ward in order to prevent them from being damaged. Not even the cutting hex she tried to use worked (since the curse was loosely based on the manipulation of the wind element).

"Natsume-kun, take your seat and eat; breakfast is almost over," Hatake ordered as he clamped his hand down on Umbridge's shoulder.

_Hai, sensei,_ Ryuu replied respectfully before giving his uncle a short bow before doing as ordered.

As the week progressed, Ryuu began to suspect that the woman was stalking him as she turned up everywhere he went attempting to take his swords and staves from him as well as trying to get him to acknowledge his birth name. He also suspected that his uncle was either shadowing him or stalking the woman in return because the man was _always_ there to stop her before she either assigned a detention or physically accosted Ryuu. He wondered how the man managed to find the free time to do so without apparently using a time turner when he found out during his first physical training class.

Satoshi was actually teaching Hatake's classes while Hatake had proclaimed himself as Ryuu's personal body guard. It was both touching and annoying but Ryuu knew his uncle had his reasons for keeping the toad woman off his case; he'd learned enough about her during his sessions with Yamamoto-shishou to know she had some serious political clout and made a dangerous enemy.

The only place Ryuu was vulnerable to the woman was during the joke that was her Defense Against the Dark Arts course. She had them reading bone dry theory and wouldn't even let them practice any spells. She'd almost seemed to expect that Ryuu would protest not being allowed to use his wand and make a scene (she'd stared at him the entire first period watching him with an eerie attentiveness that had creeped him out). If not for his morning sessions with Kimura, his Battle Magic lessons, and his physical training every afternoon he just might have protested the toad's lesson plans. As it was, Ryuu knew he was getting far better lessons than she could ever provide and therefore simply ignored her (especially when it became apparent that she wasn't going to stop calling him Potter).

He'd lost points each time he didn't answer her when she called on him using his birth name but the funny thing about the school point system was that it only recognized the deductions when the student's name matched the name on the school's master register and there was no Harry Potter registered at Hogwarts so therefore so long as Umbridge called him Potter when she took the points her point taking was rather… well… pointless. A fact that most of Ryuu's fellow fifth years found funny once they realized that while Ryuu lost points left and right in that class he never actually lost any points. Only the fact that no one liked the pink upholstered toad prevented some of his peers that didn't really like him from pointing out Umbridge's error to her.

Ryuu's temper would not be held in check indefinitely though and the more the woman pushed the harder it got for Ryuu to simply ignore her instead of lash out at her. Luna's constant support and companionship (when time permitted them to spend time together) helped; the time spent with Luna centering and soothing him. It also helped that Ryuu only had to deal with the woman two days a week for two hours at a time while his uncle ran interference in between classes and at meal times. Any detentions Umbridge managed to assign were immediately taken over by Flitwick or Babbling on their assigned nights of extra classes (much to the annoyance of the toad witch).

The woman wasn't pleased with the way things were turning out and as Ryuu worked towards finishing and implementing his plans to swap out the prophecy (under the noses of both Voldemort and Dumbledore), Umbridge began plotting what she intended to be Harry Potter's downfall which would in reality be her own downfall.

On Halloween morning, Ryuu woke up and felt his stomach knotting as he got up to prepare for the day. He would be turning a total of twenty four hours that day in order to pull off the switch. Hatake had successfully talked Trelawney into helping them record the new 'prophecy' onto a realistic looking prophecy orb that would not only function exactly like the original prophecy orb but would monitor and record Voldemort's reactions when he finally viewed the prophecy and send them to a special receiver that Ryuu had designed. It didn't matter if the orb was shattered either, because the monitor section of the glass sphere was just a small section of the overall design and was the only section reinforced to prevent it from being destroyed or vanished.

Moody had readily agreed to help with the plan, the paranoid ex-auror not happy with Dumbledore's plan to leave the prophecy as bait. The man had gone one step further than expected; securing not only the blueprints and security schemes for the Ministry but also the rotation schedules of the Aurors that patrolled the building, the layout of the secret rooms in the Department of Mysteries, and knew how to bypass the Unspeakables that worked in the department. Sirius and Remus had taken all of that information and plugged it into an unfinished version of the Marauder's Map that James and Sirius had been in the process of creating shortly before the Potters had been murdered. It was to be their crowning achievement as Pranksters and Aurors in training while at the same time allowing for them to better protect the Ministry from Death Eaters during Voldemort's first rise to power.

Their research and incomplete work had been in Ryuu's vault and had been one of the items that Takashi had collected at one point so Ryuu could learn more about his birth parents but had remained untouched in Ryuu's room until Sirius hunted it down with a spell he called Prank Security (basically it was a spell tied to any research notes, plans, or other documents they'd made so they could easily retrieve them if they should go missing or be confiscated). Like the original Marauder's Map of Hogwarts, the Ministry version covered every floor of the building, labeled all of the individuals inside, listed all known shortcuts, and offered tips and advice for sneaking through the place unseen.

Ryuu first had to make it through his normal school day though, since if anything went wrong during the mission they couldn't afford for it to interfere with his alibi. Worse yet, was that Halloween fell on a Tuesday that year which meant he'd have to deal with Umbridge. There was also the unknown fact that Umbridge had decided that particular Tuesday would be the day that she implemented her plan to ultimately break Harry Potter and begin the systematic take over of the school.

Ryuu earned another two detentions from Umbridge that day during class and Harry Potter lost close to fifty points for Ravenclaw (or he would have if he existed in the school's records). Ryuu simply delivered a note to his Head of House detailing what had happened during class and why Umbridge had assigned the detentions and 'taken' the points using a spell he'd recently learned that turned the piece of parchment into an origami owl and animated it so it delivered itself to the diminutive professor.

At the end of the feast, Ryuu slipped away and changed into one of his warded uniforms, dispelled his patronus (so it wouldn't attract attention), sent his familiars to wait in Hatake's quarters so he wouldn't have to worry about them, and used his illusion magic to hide his presence as he made his way to the third floor where Hatake and Moody were waiting for him. The three of them then slipped into the hidden passage way behind the bust of a one eyed witch (a secret passage that Sirius and Remus had told them about) and made their way out of the school and into Hogsmeade. With Moody's magical eye playing lookout, they slipped into the basement of Honeydukes and apparated to London, with Hatake taking Ryuu via side-along apparation as the teen hadn't yet learned how to apparate. They ended up in front of a rather rundown townhome where they were met by Sirius and ushered into the townhouse where they were greeted by a screeching portrait and twisted house elf.

"Bandit, meet my poor excuse of a mother, the one and only Walburga Black," Sirius barked out with false cheer before he walked up to the portrait and yelled at it to shut up before closing the curtain that had been set up to hide it. "Kreacher, go to your room and stay there for the rest of the night. You are not to leave the house and you are to forget that anyone was here tonight."

The elf sneered and muttered under its breath about blood traitors, half breeds, and foreigners but complied with the direct orders. Ryuu watched him go with pity; the elf obviously driven insane by the dark magic that Ryuu could feel living in the creepy mansion.

"If you wish, Padfoot-chan, I can seal him and end his misery," Ryuu offered quietly as he finally turned to look up at his godfather.

"I don't know… I'll think about it but the shock of the bond being broken would probably kill him first," Sirius replied after giving the idea serious consideration. "And do you have to add the 'chan' onto the end of my name? I thought chan was meant for girls. I'm not a girl." Sirius's tone had turned whiny by the time he finished; his animagus form leaking through revealing just how much his inner animal had overtaken his human soul due to the exposure to the dementors and the length of time he'd spent in his form for twelve years.

"It is used to mean little or cute," Hatake absently corrected as he glanced around the entry way. "And while it is most often used when addressing a child or young woman that is younger than the person speaking it is also a form of affectionate address that a child will use when speaking to a beloved family member or to tease a close friend. Is Lupin-san here yet? Where are we going to turn back from? Here? In another room?"

"Moony's here, he's waiting in the drawing room for us. We can turn back from there since if we appear in the entry way then we'll set my mother to screeching again and that will alert Kreacher that there are people in the house sooner than I'd like," Sirius replied as he perked up a bit at the explanation (enjoying the idea of Ryuu being even the tiniest bit fond of him) and led them through the house towards the drawing room where they found Moony peering at the assorted trinkets inside of a glass fronted curio cabinet.

"All set? You brought the fake?" Remus asked as he turned around as he sensed them entering the room.

"Hai," Ryuu replied as he pulled out the cloud filled glass globe before tucking it safely back into his pocket.

"Let's get going then," Hatake ordered as he lifted the chain of the time turner he carried around his neck as all five of the wizards huddled close so they'd all fit beneath the magically expanded chain.

Once they were all in position, Hatake flipped the turner over eight times in rapid succession before letting go of the device as the world around them blurred and time ran backwards around them. When the rush of color slowed to a stop Hatake pulled the chain back and shrank it back to its normal length before tucking it back into his robes. Moody then led the group out of the house, his magical eye keeping an eye on Kreacher working up in the attic while Ryuu wove an illusion over the entire group to prevent any of the portraits from seeing or hearing them.

The moment they stepped outside, Ryuu changed the illusion so that they now looked like a family of four with their pet dog (Sirius transforming to make it easier to cast the illusion); Ryuu and Remus becoming the under school age children while Moody became the overstressed father and Hatake became the homely young wife. Hatake growled at the cheeky grin Ryuu had on his face as he played, the older wizard promising retribution for making him the 'woman' of the family while Sirius barked happily; the animagus's amusement obvious. Moody and Remus both snickered as the grizzled ex-Auror called the Knight Bus to take them to the Ministry.

Ryuu nearly lost control of the illusion when the magical bus threw him out of his chair as it took off and only the fact that he'd been able to land with his flute still held in place at his mouth prevented the illusion from wavering or breaking completely. Sirius and Remus had snickered over the incident once they were certain they weren't in danger of being uncovered while Ryuu glared at them over the top of his flute for not warning him about the horrible starts and stops of the bus.

An hour and a half later, they were standing inside the atrium of the Ministry of Magic once more under a blanket of invisibility created by Ryuu's music. Moody had gotten them inside using the Visitor's Entrance and the Auror Authorization Code that would allow them to enter without being forced to identify themselves or their purpose. Remus and Sirius were both checking the map to see exactly how many security guards they would need to deal with before they could slip passed the check-point unseen and undetected.

The group moved closer to the fountain of Magical Brethren in the center of the atrium and the two Marauders pulled out two bottles of Bubble Blast (a magical child's favorite bubble bath soap!) and poured both bottles into opposite sides of the fountain before tucking the now empty bottles back into their robes. Distraction set, the group inched towards the check-point and waited for the explosion of suds that would soon be filling the entire atrium (the directions on the bottles leaving strict instructions to never use more than a teaspoon per every fifty gallons of water and to only use it in standing water).

They were standing poised to slip passed the guard lounging at the desk when a muffled whump sounded from behind them as the bubbles literally exploded out of the fountain like a time delayed bomb; a volcano of suds shooting up into the air and raining down over everyone and everything within thirty feet of the fountain. Remus and Sirius childishly high-fived each other at a prank well executed as they snuck by the now frantic and panicking security guard who was far more concerned with the massive wave of bubbles bearing down on him than the tiny little beeping sensor that announced unauthorized individuals had just slipped through the check-out point.

"You think adding both bottles was a bit overkill?" Remus mused as they took the stairwell down.

"I still say putting the third one in would have made it better," Sirius countered. "You know I calculated the exact amount needed based upon the report that told how many gallons of water were pumped through the fountain by the minute. The initial blast of suds would have reached the ceiling if you'd let me do it my way."

Ryuu's shoulders were shaking he was trying so hard not to burst out laughing and accidentally allow the illusion to flicker. The two wizards could be so childish at times; especially his godfather. Both Moody and Hatake just rolled their eyes as Hatake kept an eye on the map checking for Ministry employees along their chosen path and Moody dismantled the various alarms and wards that would reveal their hidden presence, resetting them once the others had passed beyond their range. When they reached the level where the Department of Mysteries was located, they stopped just inside the stairwell while Moody monitored the hall with his eye and the other three adults scanned the map for the locations of the Unspeakables within the department.

They had to wait an hour and fifteen minutes before they could safely enter the door leading inside of the department. Once the coast was clear, they quickly and quietly slipped inside the door into a round room filled with a circle of doors that were sent spinning the moment the exit door slipped closed. Moody then gestured for them to hurry up as the map indicated an A. Croaker heading in their direction through the Time Room. The door to the Time Room opened before they could reach another door and an older wizard peered out into the entrance hall searching for any sign of the individual that had activated the room. The Unspeakable then looked right at Ryuu and raised his wand.

"I know you are there; I can feel your magic filling the air with an illusion. Show yourself and I will not attack. Continue to hide and I will erase your existence."

Moody scowled and nodded for Ryuu to cooperate and the teen dropped his flute as he released the magic holding the illusion in place. The aged wizard jumped at bit as the four adults and one teen shimmered into view and his eyebrows disappeared into his hair line as he immediately recognized Ryuu (from the tournament articles and photos in the Daily Prophet the previous year). The Unspeakable then turned to scowl at Moody.

"Damn it, Moody, you know better than to come skulking around here," the wizard growled. "Especially with unauthorized individuals in tow! I could have your badge for this… if you weren't already retired."

"Stuff it, Croaker," Moody growled. "You weren't supposed to be here today and you're the only one in the Department with the ability to detect active magic in the air. Otherwise no one ever would have known we were here and that's the way we'd like to keep it."

"To what purpose?" Croaker demanded as he stepped fully into the room which allowed the room to spin a second time once the door closed.

"Voldemort," Ryuu murmured as he tilted his head to the side and studied the rather unremarkable (if old) wizard standing before them.

"Sorry, he's not here and last I checked he doesn't work in this department," Croaker dryly replied as he crossed his arms.

Ryuu snorted and pulled out the fake prophecy from his pocket; the Unspeakable's eyes widened a fraction as he took in the small cloud filled globe. Ryuu held the ball up in his hand, resting lightly on the tips of his fingers as he gazed beyond the globe and met Croaker's eyes.

"He's going to be coming for this…" Ryuu stated softly, a predatory smile flashing across his face for the briefest of instants. "I wouldn't want him to find it missing when he finally arrives."

"Where… where did you get that?" Croaker asked. "When did you get that?"

"Not important," Hatake replied as stepped in front of the teen while Ryuu tucked the fake prophecy back into his pocket. "All we want to do it put it back. We're not going to touch anything but the stand that is supposed to hold that prophecy."

"The only reason we're sneaking about is because we didn't want to draw attention to our young charge here being inside of the Ministry. We didn't want him to be swamped by fans that would prevent him from returning the prophecy and announce his presence to those we don't wish to know we were here," Moody rasped.

"You're just going to put that back on its pedestal? Nothing else?"

"Correct, we're here to put this prophecy back where it belongs," Ryuu promised; carefully not mentioning that they would be removing the true prophecy that was currently occupying said pedestal.

"You are aware that only the person to whom the prophecy applies may touch the pedestal, correct?"

"That won't be a problem; since I was the one who took this one," Ryuu replied honestly; after all he'd been the one to record the prophecy and he'd also taken it right out of Hogwarts.

"Alright, I'll let you do what you need to do… but touch nothing aside from the pedestal where the prophecy belongs. I'll wait here to open the way out for you when you are finished," Croaker muttered after a moment. "Hall of Prophecies."

The door directly behind Ryuu opened and the fifteen year old bowed to the Unspeakable and brought his flute back up to his mouth as he once more wove the illusion of invisibility over their small group and the five of them entered the Hall of Prophecies. Moving quickly, the five of them spread out and began searching for the proper pedestal, knowing that their time was limited due to Croaker counting down the seconds they were inside the prophecy room. Sirius found it five minutes later, tucked down one of the left hand rows near the back of the room and Ryuu trotted up to him as fast as he could while still holding the illusion in place.

This is where their entire plan could fail; for if the pedestal recognized that the globe placed upon it was a fake and rejected it then all of their plans would be for naught. He handed the fake prophecy to his godfather to hold for a moment and wiped the sweat from his palm as he turned his eyes to the shelf. Reaching out with one hand, while his other held his pan flute to his mouth, Ryuu plucked the original prophecy off the base that held Trelawney's initials, Dumbledore's initials, the dark lord's name, and Ryuu's birth name.

He felt a thread of magic wrap around his hand for a moment and he froze as the magic tested him. The moment it identified him as one of the four people authorized to remove the prophecy, the magic withdrew and Ryuu quickly tucked the original into his pocket and took the fake back from his godfather. Ryuu then slowly reached up and settled the fake globe onto the pedestal and froze as the thread of magic returned and wrapped itself around the fake before fading out of existence. Ryuu's shoulders sagged in relief and would have collapsed if not for his godfather bracing him from behind.

Smiling around his flute, Ryuu glanced up at the man briefly before the five of them headed back out of the room. Hatake using a spell to kick up the dust all around the shelf where the prophecy was sitting, allowing the dust to coat shelf and prophecy alike to hide any sign that it had been disturbed. Fifteen minutes after entering the Hall of Prophecies, they were once again standing back in the Entrance Hall of the Department of Mysteries facing Croaker who eyed them suspiciously. The Unspeakable then opened the exit after Moody extracted an oath from the man to never reveal the knowledge that they'd been in the department or that they'd gone any where near the Hall of Prophecies.

It took them another forty-five minutes to get back to the atrium where Ministry employees were trying to clean up the mess of suds that were _still_ pouring out of the fountain like a geyser. Sirius and Remus snickered over the huge mess that had been made as the group made for the nearest apparation point and disappeared with soft cracks to the basement of Honeydukes. Ryuu's control on the illusion that kept them hidden shattered the moment they reappeared and he sagged into his uncle's arms; the strain of using the illusion magic for nearly five hours straight having sapped all of his strength.

The adults quickly bustled the teen down into the secret passage way so they wouldn't be caught by the owners of the sweetshop and carried him all the way to the castle side of the tunnel where Moody spent several minutes scanning the hallway above for any sign of life before Hatake carried the now sleeping teen out of the tunnel. Remus and Sirius climbed up next, the pair of them ghosting off in the direction of the dojo so they could sneak back to Japan through the portal before someone discovered they were in Scotland.

Moody in the mean time played lookout for Hatake as the gray-haired wizard carried Ryuu up to his quarters where they'd let the teen sleep before getting him back to within ten or fifteen minutes of when he originally left (on the off chance the teen slept longer than the three hours they had left). Hatake settled Ryuu in his bed in case another staff member came looking for him while they were waiting for the teen to wake up (it wouldn't do to have him found in such an exhausted state because it would raise questions they didn't want to answer).

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Hai – yes  
>Ojiojisan – uncle  
>Otousantousan – father  
>Wakaru – I understand<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I'd never understood why they just left the prophecy sitting there the way they did. Yes, I can understand attempting to trap Voldemort or get him to reveal himself but why not get rid of the original prophecy so that he won't have that information? Hell, even Dumbledore could have filched the dang globe because his name was on it. It was book five that made me start questioning Dumbledore's motives and while my Dumbledore in this story is not evil or excessively manipulative, I can easily see him as being such due to his actions in all three final books (Snape's memories in book seven revealing even more manipulation). _

_Anyway, someone asked about the gleam of triumph seen in Dumbledore's eyes at the end of last chapter and all I can say is that it is the same gleam seen in JKR's version of the Goblet of Fire when Harry told Dumbledore that Riddle had used his blood in the resurrection ritual for pretty much the same reasons. It won't be very important to the overall story; it was merely Dumbledore being pleased that Voldemort did what he did to regain a body instead of using a different ritual._

_Also, the reason Ryuu had never used a portkey prior to the tournament cup whisking him away to the goblet was due to the adverse affects that portkeys have on familiars and through the familiars on their wizards. I know I'd mentioned that previously but I don't think I fully explained it. I'll have to check my notes and the rest of the story to see if I did explain it at some point or if it is one of the lose ends I'll need to tie up. _

_Anyway, next chapter will reveal Umbridge's plotting and Ryuu's reaction. I'll try and get it posted before I have to deal with the unpleasantness again on Tuesday but I make no promises as I need to get the next chapter of Banished out and I'm trying to edit/revise Chaos and finish up Wizard's World Year 2 so I can post both sequels. ~ Jenn_


	39. A Declaration of War

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

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><p><span>Chapter 38: A Declaration of War<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
><em>October 31, 1995 to November 01, 1995<em>  
><em>

Ryuu looked positively gray when he stumbled out of the bedroom two and a half hours later; the extra hours he'd added to his day wrecking havoc on his body in addition to the severe magical exhaustion that had been brought on by his full day of school and the extended illusions he'd woven. Hatake took one look at the teen and cursed; there was no way they could allow him to add any more time to his day at that point because it could cause serious problems (especially considering the fact that he still had to add another eight hours of rest to compensate for the extra hours he'd originally added).

Moody pursed his lips as he too studied the teen before he tossed a bottle of Pepper-Up Potion to Hatake who opened it and pressed it into the teen's hands and urged him to drink. Ryuu complied without complaint and swayed on his feet as steam poured through his ears.

"Did that help any?" Hatake asked in concern.

Ryuu shook his head no, his skin still tinged gray, as he sank onto the couch and closed his eyes. Both adults now swore up a storm. This was one aspect they hadn't considered when planning everything and it was one they should have taken into consideration from the start. The human body was not meant to live through a full twenty-four hours in the span of about twelve hours which is what Ryuu had basically just done. And right now they only had a half an hour to get him back into shape in order to make certain no one even suspected that Ryuu had been anywhere but inside the school attending classes.

Hatake called for Dobby and asked the elf to bring Ryuu a bowl of chicken broth, a grilled roast beef and cheese sandwich, a thick slab of dark chocolate, a mug of hot chocolate, a vial of strengthening solution, a second vial of Pepper-Up, and two sobering potions (for the two adults). Hatake then poured Ryuu a finger of Firewhiskey and told the teen to sip it slowly. Ryuu choked and gagged over the first burning sip before glaring at Hatake as the whiskey tasted worse than some of the potions he'd been forced to take over the years.

When Dobby arrived back with the food, Ryuu ditched his cup of alcohol (which he'd barely touched) and eagerly sipped at the salty broth both to get rid of the taste of the Firewhiskey and because he was starving. He was told to drink the strengthening solution before eating the sandwich, which he did, and after that he took the second Pepper-Up which worked more effectively than the first one did as color slowly began returning to Ryuu's complexion. By the time he'd eaten the chocolate bar and was half finished with his hot chocolate he was feeling almost normal if still feeling exhausted and drained; at least he no longer looked like death warmed over.

"What are you going to do with that prophecy you took?" Moody asked once Ryuu looked more alert.

"Destroy it," Ryuu replied without any hesitation around another sip of chocolate.

"Not going to listen to it? Make certain it's the correct prophecy?" Hatake inquired.

"No, the prophecy itself doesn't matter; all that matters is that Voldemort takes the bait and starts to destroy his forces from the inside out."

"Why do you say it doesn't matter?" Hatake asked as he watched Ryuu out of the corner of his eye; fully aware that Ryuu knew nothing of the other two prophecies in existence.

"I refuse to believe that my entire life is already written," Ryuu softly replied. "I have to believe that there is free will and choice or what is the point in living? No… the words of the prophecy are completely meaningless as far as I am concerned."

"Would you be opposed to your father and I listening to it to make certain Dumbledore was completely truthful with us about the prophecy?"

In reply, Ryuu dug the globe out of his pocket and tossed it across the room to his uncle who caught it with one hand. Ryuu then finished his hot chocolate and climbed up onto his feet, swaying for a moment as his body protested the change in position. Once steady, he headed towards the door so he could slip across the hall to put his Hogwarts' robes back on over his academy uniform and collect his familiars before heading to Professor Flitwick's office for the 'detention' that Umbridge had assigned him that morning.

He paused just long enough for Moody to declare that his earlier self had just vanished down the hall and that Shinjin and Tenji were waiting just outside the door for him before Ryuu slipped out of Hatake's rooms and entered the tower across the way. About the time his past self was slipping into the secret tunnel beneath the hump-backed witch, the original Ryuu was knocking on Professor Flitwick's office door and two floors below the Ravenclaw Head's office Luna was being ordered to write lines in her first ever detention assigned just ten minutes earlier by Delores Umbridge.

Three hours later, after spending the entire time with Flitwick going over the equations and runes for Ryuu's latest project (an image projector for the pensieve he'd made over the summer that would not only allow the memories to play above the pensieve but magnify them so they could be viewed by large audiences), Ryuu was wearily heading back to Ravenclaw Tower.

He was once again feeling wrung out and exhausted (his complexion just starting to lose color) as the potions he'd taken earlier had long since worn off and what he really needed was sleep. Slapping his hand on the wall, the charm that allowed him to by-pass the password still in place, Ryuu watched the entrance to swing open before he stepped into the common room. He was halfway across the room, when Tenji suddenly yowled and launched himself off of Ryuu's shoulder to slip between the feet of a crowd of students hovering around one of the chairs.

Confused, Ryuu stopped and frowned after the cat and considered leaving him down in the common room when he heard the sound of Himiko mewling. Knowing the dainty white kneazle was never very far from Luna; Ryuu turned and slowly made his way towards where the students were hovering. As he got closer, Ryuu heard the unmistakable sound of Luna crying and all traces of weariness fled Ryuu as a fire ignited inside of him at the thought of someone hurting his girlfriend.

Pushing his way through the crowd, fully prepared to yell at them for tormenting the fourth year, Ryuu faltered when he found Luna curled up in the chair, clutching her right hand to her chest as she cried into Himiko's fur. It was when he caught sight of the dried blood on Luna's right arm, left hand, and Himiko's fur that the fire inside him turned to fury as he crouched down in front of Luna and took her hands in his as he lifted away her left hand to reveal the still weeping cuts on the back of her right hand.

_I must learn to face reality_

Ryuu's mind blanked out for a full minute when he registered the _words_ that had been carved into the back of Luna's hand. When he finally snapped back to attention, he took a deep breath and counted backwards from one hundred until he had control of his temper before he looked up into Luna's tearful eyes.

"Who?" Ryuu demanded in an ice cold voice that had the students that had been hovering around Luna in concern fleeing the room in an instant. "Who hurt you?"

"Detention," Luna hiccuped. "Lines… have to go… five more nights…"

"Who?" Ryuu repeated.

"Umbridge," Luna replied reluctantly as she clung to Ryuu as he made to stand up. "Please don't go… it's what she wants! She knew you would retaliate if she hurt me. Please, Ryuu, don't go."

Ryuu closed his eyes and growled; the sound low and feral and full of pure fury. His anger tore at him as Luna's desperate plea appealed directly to his heart; and he knew she was desperate because she'd actually used his name instead of calling him her Dragon as she usually did. Once he calmed himself, he gathered Luna into his arms, sat down on the chair, and settled Luna on his lap as he held her close.

After a few minutes, when it became apparent that Luna had fallen asleep in his arms, Ryuu pulled out his cherry wand and dredged up every last ounce of magic he still had available as his anger rose once again before casting the patronus charm. A few seconds later, Shogun's form poured forth from his wand far larger than normal and shot through with gold as a wave of rage cut through the common room. And while the owl patronus was no where near as large as the wolf patronus he'd brought forth at the end of his third year, it was still large and intimidating enough with its aura of rage that it sent the rest of the Ravenclaws in the room scurrying for their dorms.

A flick of the wand sent the patronus out of the common room and in search of those who could help him; hoping the adults within the castle would answer the wordless message. As he sat there, he glared hatefully at Luna's injured hand gently cradled in his. He longed to heal the disgusting words that had been carved into her hand; hating the mere sight of the cruelty that the toady woman had inflicted upon his girlfriend simply because she was his girlfriend.

He knew he didn't have the strength, magically or physically, to perform any healing spells on her at the moment though; his long day, the extra time, and the magic he expended earlier having taken a huge toll on him and the patronus he'd just cast had taken the last magic he had to spare. Leaning down, Ryuu rested his chin on the top of Luna's head and closed his eyes as he fought to keep his rage under control so he could properly focus.

Twenty minutes later, his uncle burst into the common room on the tail feathers of his returning patronus followed by Kimura, Moody, Flitwick, Nyanko-sensei, and his father; the four wizards each with their wands held at the ready and the youkai in his natural form. Ryuu forced his eyes open, shoving aside the exhaustion that had stolen over him while he'd been waiting, so he could meet the concerned and now confused gazes that were locked on him and searching the room for threats.

"Where's the fire, brat?" Moody barked out; his magical eye spinning like a top in his head as he both watched Ryuu and searched the room.

Ryuu half glared at the man for his loud voice as Luna stirred slightly in his arms. Bringing his right hand up, Ryuu silently told the man to shut up before he answered the man's question using his hands, _Umbridge has just declared war and I intend to oblige her._

"What!?" Hatake exclaimed loudly only to be silenced much as Moody had just a moment ago. The gray-haired man growled and narrowed his eyes as he signed back, _What the hell are you talking about?_

In response, Ryuu gently lifted Luna's right hand and turned it so the five adults could clearly see the words that had been carved into the back of her hand. The two wizards who'd both spent years in law enforcement (Moody and Hatake) both immediately recognized the wound for what it was; excessive use of a blood quill (a dark artifact that duplicated the properties of the Gringotts' contract quill but was far more painful and filled with dark magic that prevented the wound and scars from being completely healed).

Flitwick and Kimura also recognized the effects of a blood quill; Flitwick's distant goblin heritage (some ten generations back) meant he was familiar with all goblin artifacts and those artifacts that mimicked them in any way and Kimura was well versed in dark artifacts through his job as a privately licensed instructor and researcher. Takashi, on the other hand, was completely clueless as to what had caused the scar but he was both angry and disgusted over the fact that words had been carved in the back of the dainty witch's hand.

_Luna told me the onibaba had her writing lines in detention tonight and that she had another five nights of detention left to attend. I'd have simply gone and put the wretched demonic toad out of my misery tonight but Luna begged me not to go; said Umbridge did it to purposely get me to react. That foul onibaba attacked her in order to get to me._

Flitwick growled out several goblin curses and turned to go Umbridge hunting himself when Ryuu's soft voice, hard and cold with barely restrained fury, stopped him in his tracks.

"Umbridge is mine; I am going to make her pay."

"I have children to protect," Flitwick growled back softly, his own anger clearly audible in the rough texture of his voice.

"Then protect them… see to it they don't spend a single detention with the wretched woman," Ryuu countered just as softly. "Warn the other Heads about what the foul witch is up to and have them check the hands of those students that have had detention with her. She personally declared war against me and I am going to give her exactly what she wants; well maybe not what she wants… more of what she deserves."

"What are you going to do, Ryuu-kun?" Takashi asked worriedly as he took in the gentle pulsing glow radiating from Ryuu's scar.

Ryuu smiled predatorily as he curled closer to his still sleeping girlfriend and signed, _I'm going to teach her why one should not poke a sleeping dragon._

"Do you know how long she was in detention for?" Hatake asked gently.

Ryuu shook his head as he answered, _No, but it couldn't have been more than two and a half hours because she was already in the common room when I got back from my 'detention' with Flitwick-sensei. Can… can one of you heal her hand? I can't… my shakuhachi is upstairs in my dorm and I really don't have enough strength right now to heal it myself. I don't want her to have to live with scars like me._

"Not possible, kid," Moody rumbled. "The dark magic laced in the wounds from the blood quill will prevent it from being properly healed. She'll carry those scars for life, I'm afraid."

"Dark magic… scared for life," Ryuu repeated with an angry growl as his eyes narrowed while his scar flared brightly. The giant owl patronus shattered as Ryuu's rage sent a small shockwave of magic through the room. A second later Ryuu hissed out, "Like hell I'm going to allow that bitch to scar _**my**_ Moon with foul magic."

Ryuu pressed his hand over Luna's hand as his entire body was flooded with an influx of magic that was pulled from the very castle; his body channeling the flow of magic from the air like his wand channeled his magic from his core. Red and gold light surrounded his and Luna's hands as he concentrated on the thin thread of dark magic he could feel tainting the wound. He tangled the ambient magic around the edge of the dark magic and slowly pulled his hand away, drawing the dark magic with it. As his hand pulled the dark magic free of her hand, the letters carved into her flesh slowly began fading one at a time until finally they were gone while Ryuu held a small ball of foul black and green magic wrapped in a thin shell of red and gold in his hand.

All four wizards were gaping at Ryuu in pure shock while Takashi was just amazed; his father the only one not aware that what Ryuu had just done should have been impossible. Ryuu wasn't paying them any mind though, as he brought up his other hand to cup the dark magic contained in his hand. More magic gathered around Ryuu's hands and began pulsing in time to the scar on his left temple which was in turn pulsing to the beat of his heart. The five adults were forced to shield their eyes and turn away as the light went from gold and red to a pale silvery red and began throwing off intense heat.

"_Purgo!_" Ryuu ordered as he glared at the magic trapped in his hands and a second shock wave blasted through the common room, knocking the adults off their feet as a thunder clap sounded loudly in the room.

When the five of them finally climbed back up onto their feet and turned to check on Ryuu, they found him slumped over Luna with a ball of pure gold ball of magic spinning lazily and slowly dissipating in the air above his head. The four adult wizards exchanged nervous glances with each other (all four of them fully aware that something miraculous and entirely impossible had just happened) while Takashi rushed forward in concern to check on his now unconscious son.

"Arigatou kamisama," Takashi murmured as he felt his son's heart beating strongly, if a bit fast. "Would one of you like to explain to me what the hell just happened and why my son looked like death warmed over when we first turned up?"

"Let's get the two of them up to bed first," Hatake murmured as he shakily approached the pair sleeping on the couch. "We can retreat to my quarters to discuss what just happened after that."

Takashi nodded curtly as he gently extracted Luna from Ryuu's arms and passed the tiny witch to Flitwick before gathering his son in his arms and carrying him up to the fifth year boy's dorm. Hatake followed the younger man and placed a monitoring charm on the sleeping fifteen year old so he would know the moment the boy woke. (Flitwick doing the same to the sleeping Luna in the event she had nightmares and so he could speak with her first thing in the morning).

The three of them met back down in the common room with Moody and Kimura before the five of them crossed the hall and entered Hatake's quarters. The gray-haired wizard began putting up a series of heavy privacy wards that had Moody nodding in approval and appreciation as the one legged wizard stomped over to the decanter of Firewhiskey they'd been drinking from earlier and poured out five glasses of whiskey after conjuring an additional three glasses.

"I'll start with confessing that Ryuu-kun successfully completed his first strike against Voldemort earlier today," Hatake revealed to the three men who'd been purposefully kept out of the loop regarding Ryuu's self assigned mission to swap the prophecy. When Takashi opened his mouth to either yell at Hatake or ask him what the hell he was talking about, Hatake raised his hand and added, "Before you say anything, allow me to explain. Ryuu and I spent a couple of hours discussing his schedule his first night back, Luna-chan was there as well but she mostly just listened, and the conversation eventually turned to the prophecy between Ryuu-kun and the Dark Lord."

"Ryuu was unhappy with Dumbledore-shishou's decision to leave the prophecy virtually unprotected and in the hands of the Ministry and he came up with a rather brilliant plan to replace it on the spot. We spent the past two months refining the plan and gathering information with the help of Moody, Lupin, and Black. The reason the rest of you were left out of the loop was because I wanted to limit the number of people involved and Ryuu didn't want you to worry, Takashi."

"He's still my son, even if he's nearly grown," Takashi growled. "You should have at least warned me, Kakashi. What if something had gone wrong?"

"What exactly did the five of you do? I noticed Mr. Natsume seemed rather subdued and less energetic while we went over his research on the pensieve projector this evening; now that I think about it, he didn't even attempt to carve any rune schemes this evening or use his magic in any way. He was strictly focusing on the non-magical aspects of the research; completely unlike him."

"The kid pranked the Dark Lord," Moody rasped as he tossed back his third glass of Firewhiskey since entering the room.

"That doesn't tell us what he did!" Takashi ground out as he glared at the ex-Auror.

"He switched out the original prophecy with a fake one that he created with the help of Luna-chan and Trelawney-senpai. The fake one is designed to drive Voldemort into a panic and force him to doubt his own followers; if not outright attack them. With Dumbledore one hundred percent certain that the Dark Lord will attempt to steal the prophecy; this was the perfect way to strike at him from a distance while at the same time protecting the original prophecy."

"So why did my son look so drained?"

"Because we made a slight miscalculation in the plans," Hatake admitted wearily as he glared down at the inch of whiskey left in his glass. "The one thing we didn't take into account was the toll today's field trip would take on him physically. We were so focused on making the mission as safe as possible from outside threats that we didn't consider the magical and physical repercussions of the mission."

"He pushed himself through twenty-four hours of time in twelve hours; running through his normal school day before jumping back an entire eight hours to carry out the switch. He also maintained an illusion for about five hours straight, steadily draining his magic the entire time. He collapsed the moment we returned to Hogsmeade and we brought him up to my rooms where he slept for a couple of hours before we fed him, gave him some restorative potions, and lots of chocolate with orders not to use his magic for the rest of the night and sleep once he was finished with Flitwick-senpai."

"I'm surprised the kid found enough magic to create the patronus he did; he shouldn't have had enough for a normal patronus let alone the rage fueled one he sent to gather the five of us," Moody muttered moodily. "The damn kid defies the laws of nature and magic just by breathing."

"I'd like to know where he drew the magic from that he used to purge the dark magic from Lovegood-chan's hand and purify it just a few minutes ago; two things which should have been impossible," Kimura stated as he sipped at his glass of whiskey. "Given what you said about him already being drained and the nature of dark magic."

"He pulled it from the castle," Flitwick replied. "As one of the four Heads of House I am tied into the castle's magic and felt him pulling on the ambient magic that fills the entire castle. Dumbledore and the other three Heads would have felt the drain as well and Dumbledore will undoubtedly call a meeting sometime tomorrow to discuss it with the rest of the staff after he checks on the wards to make certain the school isn't in danger."

"Is that going to cause problems for my son?"

"No, it shouldn't," Kimura replied slowly. "He was channeling the magic through his blood; using his body as the focus, much as a normal witch or wizard uses a wand. In fact, the excess magic he pulled through his body should have actually helped him recharge his core as it passed through his body. A good night's rest… no a good three nights of rest (to make up for the number of hours he turned today) should have him back to normal. I know he's already sleeping through the night twice, given his current schedule, so having him sleep through it a third time shouldn't be a problem."

"I placed a monitoring charm on him just now, I can catch him when he wakes up and have him spend the extra turn sleeping here in my rooms," Hatake agreed. "I can walk him down to you for the final turn, Takashi."

"What are we going to do about that Umbridge woman?" Flitwick demanded once the matter of Ryuu's health had been addressed.

"We're going to see what Ryuu has planned and give him all the help he needs," Moody replied with a feral grin. "The kid has already started planning something; that much was clear."

"In the mean time we need to make plans to prevent the… what did Ryuu call her? Oh yes, the demonic toad from getting her grubby little claws on any of the other children," Kimura added thoughtfully.

"Flitwick-senpai," Hatake began after the five of them contemplated Kimura's words for a moment. "You should tell Dumbledore-shishou and the other Heads the partial truth tonight. Warn them that Umbridge is using a dark artifact on the students and that Ryuu reacted to the discovery; it will explain the drain on the wards without giving any details. Also warn them not to interfere with Ryuu's counter measures. Dumbledore will most likely sit back to see what the 'chosen one' will do (testing Ryuu yet again) while McGonagall and Sprout will balk a bit over not being allowed to act. The only one I'm not certain of is Snape; he could side with Umbridge out of spite or he could want to get back at her himself… if one of his Snakes was forced to attend a detention with the woman."

"Make them all swear an oath before you reveal what you know," Moody suggested. "They'll balk and complain but they will do so; except Dumbledore but he'll not interfere. He stands to loose too much right now if he is seen as even appearing to set himself against the Ministry and he won't risk his position for something like this."

Ryuu stepped out of the bathroom at that point (the teen still looking more than a little exhausted) and stopped in confusion when he saw the five of them standing there but said nothing as Hatake silently ordered him to go back to bed. The five adults then spent another two hours drinking and hashing out tentative plans to pave the way for Ryuu's war against Umbridge before they separated for the night. Hatake promised Takashi that he would escort the teen to his quarters after he'd slept through his second night. Flitwick in the mean time had promised to speak with Luna and charm her hand to display the now missing scars to prevent Umbridge from discovering that Ryuu had not only healed her hand but completely removed the scars.

At five-forty-five the next morning, Hatake stepped outside of his quarters and leaned against the wall to wait for Ryuu as he'd been alerted the moment the teen had woken up about an half an hour earlier. He was unsurprised when the teen stepped out of the Ravenclaw tower dressed in the only surviving silk uniform that he'd been given to wear during the tournament the previous year and bristling with his usual assortment of weapons. The only thing out of place was the small rectangular book gripped in his left hand; it was not one of the teen's textbooks and not a book Hatake had ever seen before.

"Change of plans, Ryuu-kun," Hatake softly instructed when it looked like Ryuu was going to walk by without noticing him. "You'll be spending your next night in here with me; you can use the bathroom to turn back eight hours."

Ryuu nodded after a slight hesitation and stepped through the door beside Hatake. Ten minutes later, he stepped back out looking far more alert than he had when he first entered and the two of them fell into step as Hatake escorted the teen through the halls down to his parents' quarters on the first floor. They entered the apartment together where they met Takashi feeding the ten month old Kenji on the couch.

"Use the bathroom, Ryuu-kun, and you spent the night in Kenji's room instead of your own last night," Takashi announced softly as he glanced up at them. "You are currently getting ready for the day in your bedroom."

Ryuu nodded and once again went to turn back another eight hours, feeling slightly weird knowing that he'd already slept through twenty-four hours straight. Shortly after he disappeared into the bathroom, he stepped out of his bedroom looking fully rested for the first time since he'd woken up the previous morning.

"How are you feeling?" Hatake asked as he eyed Ryuu critically. "You certainly look much better than you did when you first woke up this morning."

"Fine," Ryuu replied curtly; his anger from the night before still simmering just below the surface.

"What are your plans for the day?"

"I'm going to do nothing until I speak with Yamamoto-shishou and Ashikaga-shishou during my Battle Magic training this morning and Flitwick-sensei after breakfast this afternoon. I will need Yamamoto's permission to involve the transfer students that are attending this year, Flitwick's opinion on involving my friends (since they are not in his house I can't ask him for permission but he'd give me an idea on how much trouble they'd be in with McGonagall-sensei if I involve them), and I need permission from Ashikaga-shishou to postpone my training with him for the next two to four months while I put my current training to the test in a practical simulation."

Ryuu then turned to his father and allowed Takashi to see the book he carried in his hands. Takashi sucked in a sharp breath before glancing up to search Ryuu's eyes. Ryuu slowly nodded as he addressed his father with an extremely formal tone that Hatake rarely ever heard the boy use around his family. "Tousan, I humbly request your aide in learning how to use the Yujincho to summon the youkai to do my bidding."

"Are you certain, Ryuu-kun?" Takashi asked softly as he stilled and studied Ryuu intently.

"Hai, tousan," Ryuu replied just as softly.

"I will teach you on one condition," Takashi agreed sternly; his expression solemn. He waited for Ryuu to give him his complete attention before he stated, "You will never again leave me out of the loop when you are making your plans. I don't care if you think you are protecting me; you will keep me informed of everything you plan to do in the future."

It was Ryuu's turn to suck in a sharp breath as he flicked his eyes over to his honorary uncle who stared impassively back at him; the older wizard feeling no remorse for revealing yesterday's events to Takashi. Ryuu then turned back to his father and bowed low before stating, "It will be as you say, tousan; I will hold nothing back."

"Yoi," Takashi stated. "We will start this weekend; make certain you have the Yujincho with you when you come."

"Hai, tousan."

Over the course of the rest of the day, the staff members of Hogwarts that were aware of what was going on noticed that Ryuu moved with purpose; though on the surface he appeared to be acting no different than usual. One Delores Umbridge was frowning as she watched the fifteen year old, obviously wondering why he wasn't reacting as she had predicted he would before she glared at the unusually subdued Luna Lovegood; wrongly jumping to the conclusion that the chit had managed to hide what had happened in order to protect the boy.

By supper time that night the entire student body and half of the staff were feeling the tension in the air and more than one person noticed the absence of Natsume Ryuu as the meal began. Fewer still realized that Maruyama Satoshi was also absent from the staff table where the twenty-year old had been taking his meals since the start of the term.

Just after the food began disappear from the tables and just before desert appeared, the doors to the Great Hall slammed open with explosive force (after being hit with an over-powered Banishing Charm) and a trio of young magicals entered the hall. In the lead was Natsume Ryuu, the teen decked out in full samurai regalia and carrying himself with authority. He was wearing a dark gray silk kimono and a divided hakama in silver silk, over which he wore polished gray armor made from the scales of a Ukrainian Ironbelly edged in silver (the scales being part of the payment Ryuu received from the Romanian Dragon Reserve for the first five uniforms he'd warded for them so far).

Strapped crosswise across his back were his wakizashi blades with his hanbo running vertically down his spine, strapped to his left thigh was a long hunting knife, his bo was held in his right hand (a black standard attached on the uppermost end), and on his left arm he held a dark gray shield also made from the same scales as his armor. Over top of his armor, partially covering his weapons, he wore a dark gray and silver silk cape with Shinjin and Tenji both regally perched on his shoulders.

Shield, standard, and cape held Ryuu's new personal crest of two Ukrainian Ironbellys forming a circle around a silver moon with the outline of an attacking owl stitched over the moon in pale gray; each dragon held a wand and a sword in its claws and held them out in such a way that the moon and owl were bracketed inside of a diamond. Across the top of the emblem was Ryuu's last name in two inch gold letters while below the emblem were the words; Arekuruu Ryuu (or Raging Dragon).

The helmet he wore on his head had a miniature life-like Ukrainian Ironbelly perched on the top, its body running down the center of the helmet and its tail running down the back. The eyes of the dragon were made from a pair of deep red multifaceted beryls that glittered in the candle light of the Great Hall, giving them the appearance of life. On each of Ryuu's upper arms was a single gold star suspended over two gold bars; the insignia of a military major.

The witch and wizard that had entered behind Ryuu were both wearing dark gray kimonos and medium gray hakama, both in a cotton polyester blend. They also wore the same cape over the weapons strapped to their backs that Ryuu wore; complete with Ryuu's crest emblazoned on the back (only with their last names stitched across the top instead of Ryuu's). On their upper arms they wore the insignia that signified the rank of captain; three gold stars set in a triangle over a single gold bar. Several of the students and staff immediately recognized the witch and wizard as Maruyama Satoshi and Sato Kimi.

The trio stopped just inside the Great Hall and Ryuu let his gaze sweep over the students before he turned his hard green eyes up to take in those sitting at the staff table while Kimi and Satoshi moved in front of him and used their wands to erect a small stage and podium. When they finished, Ryuu passed his bo and shield to Satoshi and pulled off his gauntlets and helmet before passing them to Kimi to hold as he ascended the small stage. He then pulled a scroll from a hidden pocket in his armor and unrolled it on the podium before looking out at the silent audience that was watching him with nervous anticipation, undisguised curiosity, utter fury, and dread. Ryuu swept his eyes over the students a second time before he focused on the staff table and began speaking in a steady, calm voice.

"_Headmaster Dumbledore, honored instructors, and fellow students; I apologize for disrupting your evening meal and ask that you bear with me for a moment as I have an important announcement to make. I, Special Major Natsume Ryuu of the Samurai no Mahoujutsu under the Japanese Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu, stand before you to formally announce that I am accepting the declaration of war that was issued by Umbridge Delores against the students of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on October thirty-first, nineteen ninety-five,_" Ryuu stated in Japanese; his voice echoing slightly as it carried to every corner of the Great Hall.

"_To my fellow students of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu attending Hogwarts through the sponsorship program, Yamamoto-shishou has requested that all students age fourteen or younger return immediately to Japan for the duration of the year; you will be allowed to return next year to complete your sponsorship if you so wish. Those students from the academy that are fifteen years of age or older have hereby been given permission from Yamamoto-shishou to remain at Hogwarts or return to Japan. If you choose to stay you have also been given permission to join me in boycotting Umbridge's classes and detentions in protest her use of illegal dark artifacts to punish those that don't share her views._"

Ryuu paused as all of the Japanese exchange students rose as one and saluted Ryuu before turning to bow to the staff table. Those who had been ordered to return to Japan calmly filed out of the Great Hall, the older students leading the younger ones towards their dorms to collect their things before heading through the portal to the academy. The rest of the Japanese students that were fifteen or older, roughly twenty-five individuals, made their way to where Ryuu was standing and lined up behind Satoshi and Kimi in five rows of five; every one of them prepared to stand behind Ryuu.

Ryuu waited for the murmuring that had sprung up the moment the students began moving to die down before he continued addressing the room. "_For all of the Hogwarts students that have spent at least two summers attending classes at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu and are at least fifteen years of age or older, you have been given permission by Yamamoto-shishou, McGonagall-sensei, Flitwick-sensei, and Sprout-sensei to join us in protesting against the excessive use of cruel punishments by Umbridge. Those of you who have Snape-san as your Head of House have not been given permission to join our cause; if you still wish to join us and wish to challenge the ban Snape-san placed upon all Slytherins, please speak directly to myself or McGonagall-sensei._"

"_To those Hogwarts students who have not attended the Japanese Academy that have been unjustly punished by Umbridge, you have also been given permission to join me in boycotting her classes and detentions so long as you are at least sixteen years of age and are not currently failing any of your classes (not counting Umbridge's class on Defensive Theory. Any students under the age of sixteen (or currently failing any class outside of Defensive Theory) that have been forced to attend detention with Umbridge since the start of the year are hereby urged to speak directly with your Head of House to report any injuries you have been forced to endure during the course of said detentions._"

Those students that understood Japanese softly translated for those that did not and after spreading the word up and down the house tables, all of Ryuu's close friends and close to sixty other students that met the requirements stood up and joined those already lined up behind Ryuu, their ranks not quite as orderly as those of the Japanese students. Ryuu glanced behind him and nodded respectfully to those that had gathered before turning his gaze back up to the staff table once more.

He could see that Umbridge really had no idea what was going on though she still looked livid while Snape appeared to be barely keeping his mouth shut. Those staff members that understood Japanese (about a third of the entire staff) were smirking slightly as they glanced sideways at Umbridge while discreetly providing those that didn't understand the language with written translations of Ryuu's declarations.

"_I also have with me, several written instructions and requests for the following staff members that have close ties with Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu from Yamamoto-shishou; Hatake Kakashi, Kimura Shuichi, Natsume Takashi, Natsume Taki, and Mori Youta. All Hogwarts staff are at this time being asked to stand aside for the duration of the protest; this request is being made with the understanding that your jobs, lives, and livelihood would be placed in jeopardy should you participate in the personal war that has been declared against the students of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu by an employee of Great Britain's Ministry of Magic and we do not wish to see any harm befall you. Should you still wish to participate in our protest despite the risks, I will not deny you an opportunity to join._"

"_A full list of those students that have chosen to join the protest against Umbridge's abusive punishments shall be delivered to those Heads of House that have authorized their students to enlist in the army at breakfast tomorrow morning in order to allow a full accounting of those students that have chosen to speak out against Umbridge's cruelty. To protect the students involved in the protest against Umbridge, I have been given permission to commandeer the eastern half of the third floor in addition to the Physical Defense Dojo on the second floor. All of the students involved in the boycott will be moving out of their dorms and into the third floor corridor for their protection._"

Ryuu then gave a stilted bow towards the staff table, rolled up the scroll he'd partially been reading his declaration from, and handed the scroll to Kimi as he took back his gauntlets and helmet. While Kimi walked up and delivered the scroll to Umbridge, Ryuu put his helmet back on and pulled on his gauntlets as he turned and stepped down off the stage before accepting his standard and shield from Satoshi.

"_You all have one hour to pack your belongings and meet me in the former dojo on the second floor for a formal debriefing. Any questions and concerns you have will be addressed at that time._"

The students nodded, saluted, or bowed before exiting the Great Hall while Ryuu waited for Kimi to return from making her delivery. When she finally stood beside him once more, she was joined by those adults he'd singled out during his declaration. He nodded to them before leading their small group out of the Great Hall while behind him an irate Umbridge rose to her feet and attempted to order him to return and explain his behavior.

"Mr. Potter! I order you stop right this instant and explain yourself!"

"Everything he said will be contained in the scroll that you were given," Flitwick stated as he hid the smirk on his face while watching Ryuu leave the hall without even acknowledging Umbridge.

"The scroll does me no good! It's not even written in English!" Umbridge complained as she flung the offending scroll down on her plate.

"Then I suggest you find someone to translate it for you," McGonagall declared with a sniff as she noted the gravy seeping into the porous parchment of Ryuu's declaration of war.

"Mr. Natsume certainly has a way with words, does he not?" Dumbledore mused as his eyes twinkled furiously behind his half-moon glasses. "He did look quite commanding in his new armor too. I wonder when he found the time to have it commissioned."

Flitwick snorted before he excused himself along with Sprout and McGonagall; all three Heads of House fully intending to help Ryuu and the students that chose to follow his lead regardless of the repercussions they would be facing. Moody would be helping as well but the grizzled old ex-Auror intended to gain Umbridge's confidence so that he could pass information on any actions she intended to take against those protesting against her methods to Ryuu so that the students were caught off guard. The rest of the staff (except Snape) had decided to sit back and watch the fallout before deciding on whether they would stay on the sidelines or join the students.

Waiting up in the dojo for the student protestors, were Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Xenophilius Lovegood, Augusta Longbottom, Healer Inoue, Dobby the elf, and Ashikaga Daisuke. Remus, Sirius, and Augusta were all there to provide the students with proper Defense lessons. Xeno was there as a representative of the wizarding press (the eccentric wizard fully prepared to cover every aspect of the protest in the Quibbler) and to protect him from Umbridge's wraith should she try to hurt Luna and Ryuu through him. Healer Inoue had been sent to make certain that none of the students involved in the protest suffered any lasting harm should Umbridge retaliate against them.

Ashikaga-shishou was there to observe Ryuu's leadership skills and battle tactics as the teen had been formally commissioned as a Special Major in the Samurai no Mahoujutsu (as part of the reserves since he was still a full time student and technically underage) just that morning after Ryuu had explained to the old veteran what was happening at the school and why he was requesting for his training to be postponed. And Dobby was to be the group's official cook and supply officer.

Ryuu and the small group with him arrived in the dojo ten minutes after leaving the Great Hall. The moment, he stepped inside he pulled off his helmet and tucked it under his arm before bowing to Ashikaga. He then headed over to a table that had been set up beside the lockers that had been installed to hold the students' belongings during their martial arts lessons. He set his helmet on the table and began removing his armor while Remus passed out the scrolls containing Yamamoto's instructions and requests to the handful of adults that had entered with Ryuu.

"You don't do things by halves, do you?" Hatake asked as he tucked his scroll into his pocket to read later and stepped up beside Ryuu to help the ten unbuckle the chest plates of his armor.

_It was a little more formal and involved than I originally planned but Yamamoto-shishou and Ashikaga-shishou insisted that I do things properly if they were to agree to support me in my war against Umbridge,_ Ryuu signed as he allowed Hatake to finish removing his armor without protest; his voice more than a little tired and strained from giving his longest verbalized speech to date. _Otousan and okaasan might be more than a little upset with me as well since one of the concessions I was required to give was to accept a formal officer's commission from the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu as a part of the reserve forces of the Samurai no Mahoujutsu._

_It wasn't planned or expected but it grants me diplomatic immunity should the Ministry of Magic become involved at anytime since any action they take against me could be considered an act of war between England and Japan; the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu has already delivered a copy of my acceptance of Umbridge's declaration of war against the students of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu to the Minister's office earlier this afternoon so they won't be able to say they were caught unawares. _

"You really didn't do things by halves," Hatake declared quietly as he glanced at Ryuu. "What are your feelings about how things turned out?"

_Confused as to why they would go to the lengths they did for me, satisfied that I have the support I need to deal with Umbridge the way I see fit, nervous about leading a formal protest against Umbridge because of the political power she wields, and furious as all hell that Umbridge actually thought she could get away with what she did to Luna._

"I thought you promised to keep me informed of your plans," Takashi growled angrily as he joined them.

_Moushiwake arimasen deshita, tousan,_ Ryuu stated as he bowed to his father. _It was not my intention to leave you in the dark this time but things moved far more quickly than anticipated and Ashikaga-shishou advised me against putting off my reply to Umbridge just to bring you up to speed. It will not happen again._

"I'm still not happy," Takashi replied after a few minutes. "I will be having words with both Yamamoto and Ashikaga about this and the fact that they railroaded you into accepting a military commission without seeking my permission, seeing as how you are technically still a minor. You're going to have to apologize to your mother and make this up to her though; she's understandably upset with both of us right now."

Ryuu grimaced and cringed over the thought of facing his mother but nodded knowing it was mostly his fault for allowing his anger to override his judgment (though he'd been thinking far clearer that morning and afternoon than he had the night before when he'd intended to simply gut Umbridge in her office). His fellow protestors began filing into the room just a few minutes later and Ryuu directed them to pile their things in the far corner (Dobby would be distributing them to the new dorm rooms once dorm assignments had been given out) and Ryuu put his worries over his mother's temper aside as he finished preparing for the coming debriefing.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu – Magical Magistrate  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu – Vocational School of Sorcery<br>Kami/Kamisama – god  
>Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal apology, usually used when one has seriously messed up and is apologizing to a stranger or a superior. I believe the literal translation is 'I have no excuse' and the deshita turns the phrase into the past tense. At least that is how I understood it.<br>Onibaba – hag/witch or spiteful old woman  
>Otousantousan – father  
>Samurai no Mahoujutsu – Magical warrior<br>Shakuhachi – a type of flute (and the one that Ryuu uses for healing)  
>Yoi – good<p>

**Translations:** Latin to English

Purgo - to clean, cleanse, purify/ clear away, wash off/ justify

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Finally… I was never very happy with the last half of this chapter and I held off on posting it so I could fix the parts that bothered me; specifically the speech that Ryuu gave in the Great Hall. Originally, he was going to raise a student army and wage an all out war but it sounded so cheesy and fake; which is why it bothered me. So, I found an alternate way for him to wage a silent war against Umbridge without making it sound the script of a B rated horror film. I also made the fight less personal in order to give the other students a reason to participate (the original declaration stating the ware was against the Natsume Family instead of the Japanese students)._

_Anyway, I'm sure I could have done even better but I'm at least satisfied that the chapter no longer irritates me like it did before. The next chapter will be a while in coming for the same reason; meaning I'm going to need time to eradicate the Student Army references and clean up the flow of the chapter. I hope to have the edits done by Christmas but I make no promises. _

_In the mean time, we finally see Ryuu reaching the point where he is willing to deal with the Yujincho and the Youkai. We also saw a glimpse of the power that Ryuu wields as a Living Focus that acts separately from his magical core. _

_The last thing I'll address is Dumbledore's apparent about face from the last time we saw him interact with the Natsume family. Right now, Dumbledore thinks that Umbridge will distract Ryuu from his training and from his campaign against Voldemort and the Death Eaters; so you can say he's pleased with Ryuu appearing to act like a child acting out against an unjust authority figure instead of a soldier. ~ Jenn_


	40. Councils of War

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 3<span>9: Councils of War

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>November 1995 ~ December 1995<em>

Ryuu sighed and wearily ran a hand over his face in an attempt to ignore the pounding headache he couldn't seem to get rid of as he leaned back in his chair while he waited for everyone to finish settling into their seats so they could start the meeting. The past four weeks had been hard on the fifteen year old as he spearheaded the protest movement turned war against Umbridge and attempted to keep up with his studies. They were winning but that didn't mean that everything had been all sunshine and daisies; Umbridge played dirty and people had been getting hurt.

Over the weeks since Ryuu had first implemented his protest, Umbridge had managed to recruit several older purebloods from all four houses in addition to blackmailing a number of younger purebloods and halfbloods into helping her by threatening their families. Those students had made life miserable for the rest of the students but went out of their way to target those that were taking part in the protest movement. Then there were the staff members that had joined Umbridge; Snape (he'd been helping the toad since Ryuu had given his speech in the Great Hall), Sinistra, Vector, Pince, Babbling, and Moody (the latter two actually being Ryuu's spies). Their participation was what had turned their protest into an actual war (of sorts), though for the moment the only ones using borderline dark magic were the adults (and in some cases actual dark magic).

On the other side, Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout, Hagrid, Trelawney, Kimura, and Hatake (in addition to Ryuu's parents) had all joined Ryuu's side in order to better protect all of the students (or because they had personal grudges against Umbridge – Trelawney and Hagrid falling into this last group). Finally, Dumbledore, Binns, Pomfrey, Hooch, Mori, and Burbage all remained neutral for the most part, though they turned a blind eye to the things that Ryuu and his protesters got up to.

More than one student (no matter which side they were on) had suffered an emotional breakdown due to the battles they'd been drawn into (both literal and figurative). There had also been more than one hostage taken during that time (usually a younger family member of those that were on Ryuu's side) by Umbridge in an effort to control the students following Ryuu. Ryuu had personally taken responsibility for rescuing each hostage taken (this was especially true when his little brother and his girlfriend had been taken at one point).

If Luna or Kenji had been harmed during the forty-five minutes they'd been in Umbridge's clutches, Ryuu probably would have killed Umbridge without regret; luckily for the toad, they had been unharmed.

On top of that, Ryuu had taken it upon himself to remove the dark magic that was being used on his fellow protestors and the youngest students (who were mostly under his group's protection) that had been unable to wriggle out of one of Umbridge's detentions (most of it involving the use of blood quills). Thankfully, the number of affected students had slowly dropped down until it finally reached zero just a few days earlier as the students got better at avoiding the demonic toad. It also helped that they'd nicked most of her blood quills and Ryuu had pulled the magic from them before they'd been given back.

The knowledge that Ryuu could cleanse dark magic had been sealed into his uncle with the Fidelius Charm courtesy of Headmaster Yamamoto in order to prevent that information reaching Umbridge, the Ministry, or Voldemort's forces. Only those adults Ryuu's side, the medical staff, and both headmasters were aware of his ability (so they knew why Ryuu was to be informed of all injuries created with dark magic before they were healed unless the injury was life threatening). Healer Inoue and Madam Pomfrey had attempted to learn how Ryuu pulled the dark magic from the wounds (or an object) in the hopes that they could recreate the effect with a spell in order to help but so far they'd not had any luck.

Ryuu brought his attention back to the present as the last of they were waiting on arrived and he quickly called the meeting to order. It took several minutes for everyone to find their seats but once they did they began with the latest reports.

"Do we have an accounting of the latest injuries?" Ryuu asked once everyone was ready.

"There are two more blood-quill victims," Healer Inoue reported. "Both girls are first year muggleborns from Hufflepuff. They're in the infirmary right now under mild sedation until we can interview them, take pictures of their injuries, and extract a copy of the memory of their detention from last night. We should be done in time for you to extract the dark magic later this morning or early this afternoon. Other than that there were just a few minor jinxes and hexes that have already been countered."

"How is Umbridge still managing to catch the younger students? And I thought we had neutralized that avenue of attack? Did we miss a few of her quills or did she sneak more into the castle?" Ryuu half demanded as he frowned.

"We don't know if she had some hidden, if someone in the Ministry is providing her with replacements, or if she knows someone who can recast the enchantments on the ones you'd stripped the spells from," Remus revealed with a scowl. "And it wasn't Umbridge this time, Snivellus has taken to using the quill in his detentions; Umbridge is pressuring all of the staff members on her side to use the quills since she no longer has the opportunity. We'll probably see a drastic rise in numbers again if we don't do something quick."

"We'll just have to destroy them completely when we can get our hands on them again," Ryuu practically growled; the teen hating the cursed objects with a passion. "How are we doing on potions and potion ingredients?"

"We're having some trouble getting the rarer ingredients we need; especially since Snape has now warded his supply cabinet with some fairly nasty wards laced with dark magic," Hermione answered as she flipped through her notebook. "We could smuggle some in but we'd have to triple our current supply budget in order to pay for them. It means our potions supplies will soon be running low as well if we don't find an alternate source for ingredients as we won't have what we need to make the potions. The potions most affected would be Pepper-Up Potion, Strengthening Solution, Burn Paste, general healing draught, and the Fog Potion; the five potions most used right now."

"Tousan, would it be feasible to increase the funding for our supply department?"

"So long as it is by no more than five or ten percent," Takashi replied as he rifled through his own notes. "Right now we're funding the entire protest with the royalties you've been making from the patents you own for the wards you created. If you want to increase the overall budget; well have to start pulling money from your inheritance. If you are fine with that we can match the current budget with an equal amount from your Gringotts vault; effectively doubling it."

"Do it," Ryuu instructed after he flipped through his journal to the overview he had of the current budget, noting the increase and the date authorized. "Keep the percentages to each department the same but what ever is not spent can go into a general fund to cover unexpected expenses. Hermione-chan, please go ahead and put together a list of what ingredients we will need to order and the projected costs. Please focus on what we need for the healing potions; the Fog Potion is handy but keeping everyone in good health is more important. Make certain you coordinate deliveries with Padfoot so we can avoid interference from the Ministry."

"I'll start as soon as we're done," Hermione replied.

"Can I get a status report on the rest of our equipment?"

"The new brooms were smuggled in this afternoon; we've got a bunch of decent flyers scheduled to spend an hour with them this afternoon to familiarize themselves with them," Satoshi replied. "It was a stroke of genius getting Krum to approach the professional Quidditch leagues to buy their older brooms. They also included about twenty-five old bludgers that were deemed too slow for the professional league but they still have enough zip in them to wreck havoc."

"The latest batch of mock Hogwarts' uniforms arrived from Japan through the portal today," Kimi added in once Satoshi finished. "The uniforms all have the Elemental Ward stitched into the seams with the Dragon Ward added to the hems for additional protection as you requested."

"Good; that should help cut down on the number of injuries acquired during the frequent skirmishes that occur between classes. We'll need to get those distributed to the younger children over the next couple of days," Ryuu stated before he turned to address the Weasley twins. "Fred-kun, George-kun; how is production coming along?"

"We've got two dozen portable swamps ready for deployment," Fred stated. "We've also got a couple hundred Bug Bombs, fifty Glue Bombs, and seventy Paint Bombs. The Skiving Snackbox treats are coming along nicely too; all we need is an effective delivery system and those taking orders from Umbridge can be put out of commission whenever the need arises. One of our top researchers suggested creating a new variety of Dung Bomb using thestral dung that we're working on as well."

"We've just begun production on the Wildfire Whiz-Bangs," George continued. "We hope to have at least a dozen ready for deployment in forty-eight hours. The Punching Telescopes have just been finished and plans are being made to swap them out with the telescopes on the Astronomy Tower this coming weekend. The Decoy Detonators need a few adjustments before we'll be ready to begin production on them."

"Our budget has been tight but if you're increasing the budgets across the broad than we should have more than enough to speed up production on things like the bombs since we were running low on ingredients," Fred finished.

Ryuu nodded as he scribbled down numbers in his journal before responding, "Perfect, just in time for tonight's raid. If you'll have six swamps and half of the bombs delivered to the supply room by six, I'd appreciate it; I'd also like to have someone on hand at eight-fifty in the staging area to demonstrate how to deploy the swamps to the Flight Squads. The two of you should check with Dobby and see if the elves would be willing to help distribute the treats you mentioned; we can work out the logistics and target dates as soon as we know if they'll help."

"Got it, boss," both twins replied as one.

"Do we have an update on what is happening with the creatures we've unleashed in the castle?"

"We've lost the pixies and the doxies," Lee Jordan reported. "Snape's turned close to two thousand of their numbers into potion ingredients and the rest fled. The ghouls, unfortunately, were eradicated completely. The nifflers are still going strong, in fact I've heard they've been breeding like crazy in the dungeons (helped by the house elves giving them the leftovers at every meal) and their numbers have more than tripled in the last week."

"The garden gnomes have completely taken over the Quidditch Pitch and the Slytherin's Common Room as planned and they had been seen stealing potion ingredients from Snape's store room right up until he added some nasty wards. The house elves have been demanding more work again; their not pleased that so few of them are allowed into our new dorms to clean or our kitchen to cook. Have we had any luck bringing in another couple of boggarts? We need another one for the Defense classroom and Umbridge's office."

"Damn, those pesky little flying bugs are going to be a pain to replace," Sirius muttered. "They were the most effective at getting into places they don't belong and wrecking havoc."

"Can't be helped," Ryuu pointed out as he made a few notes in the war journal he had started keeping after Headmaster Yamamoto had told him to keep a record of everything that took place during the protest. "Did we ever receive that shipment of mackled malaclaws that Hagrid-san promised to order for us two weeks ago?"

"No, they were confiscated by the Ministry six days ago," Hermione replied. "Umbridge has her contacts in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures screening any imports bound for Hogwarts ever since she found that half-grown bugbear in her private quarters. We'll have to find another way to bring them in or forget them entirely."

"Padfoot, can you meet with Hagrid-san and make arrangements to smuggle some of the malaclaws in through the usual channels? I'd really like to plant the malaclaws in the beds of those seventh years on Umbridge's side; they're getting far too vicious when they catch the younger students without protection. I'm tired of playing nice with them when they take enjoyment on attacking those not directly involved in the war. Their string of bad luck will send a message that we won't tolerate them continuing involving the younger kids."

"I'll take care of it," Sirius replied.

"Augusta, can you help Hagrid write up a formal complaint to the Board of Governors about the Department of Regulation withholding creatures required for his classes? That should help neutralize Umbridge's contact within the Ministry for that Department since they are interfering with education."

"Consider it done," Augusta agreed as she nodded. "I'll also see if a few of those on the Wizengamot who are dissatisfied with the Ministry's stance on what is happening here at Hogwarts will make a formal complaint about the interference during the next session."

"That would be appreciated, the more pressure we can put on her contacts the better off we will be because it will limit outside interference."

"Does anyone else have anything more to report?" Ryuu asked. "No? Alright, then this meeting is officially over. I'll need the leaders assigned to run tonight's raid to meet me in the Command Center in fifteen to go over preparations and goals for tonight."

As the others began leaving, Ryuu leaned forward and placed his elbows on the table as he rubbed his temples in hopes of alleviating the headache that was still plaguing him. A hand falling on his shoulder brought Ryuu's head up and he smiled weakly up at his uncle before climbing to his feet so he could head down to the former dojo for the debriefing on that night's raid. Hatake fell into step beside him as he swung by his office to grab the information packets he'd put together a couple of nights earlier before they opened the mirror that hid a magical lift that connected Ryuu's office to the Command Center so he no longer needed to travel the corridors and risk capture by the enemy. (There were several such secret passages that had cropped up over the past four weeks; the castle itself moving and shifting to protect their forces because they were fighting to protect the students.)

"How are you holding up?" Hatake asked once he verified they were the first to arrive.

"I'm okay, just a little tired though I still have a headache and constantly having to deal with the dark magic doesn't help," Ryuu replied. "Other than that, I'm doing fine. I hate that Umbridge has turned a simple protest into an all out war between us and them and it disgusts me that the English Ministry is actually allowing her to use dark magic on children and encouraging those ridiculous decrees she puts out every other night. There's a part of me that just wants to slip into her room one night and permanently put her out of my misery."

"The Infirmary should have Headache Potions on hand, why haven't you taken one? And how much sleep are you actually getting every night?" Hatake asked as he studied Ryuu critically. "You know your frustration isn't unexpected given how things are going but you are doing a marvelous job of countering everything they have thrown at us so far. You've also minimized the suffering of those caught in the crossfire which has actually gained us more supporters when the neutral students see that they will attack anyone while we protect and heal all those caught in the cross fire. And before you actually go planning any assassinations, make certain you are ready to commit to it because intentionally setting out to kill someone (no matter how evil and twisted they are) is far different than killing in self defense and it is a line I'd rather not see you cross."

"Who said anything about assassinations?" Ryuu countered with a slight smirk. "I don't want to kill anyone else if I can help; though I won't take any risks when facing Voldemort's forces. Kimura-sensei has been helping me learn the Memory Charm… if Umbridge can't remember who she is and what her goals were, then she can't carry them out. Or if I can permanently transfigure her into a real toad, then she wouldn't be able to retaliate against us."

"You know, when most people speak of permanently dealing with someone they speak of killing them," Hatake grumbled half in irritation and half in exasperation. "And you never answered my other questions."

"Ah… but I am not most people," Ryuu countered with a small grin before he turned away from his uncle with a sigh and scowled down at the floor. "I'm sleeping as best I can both turns but the nightmares don't help. They've gotten better but I'm still waking up two and three times each turn. And I have taken potions for the headache but they never last long and I don't want to waste the potions for something so minor, it'll go away on its own eventually."

"Ryuu…" Hatake growled warningly over that unexpected declaration.

Ryuu opened his mouth to reply only to shut it when the others began filing in. He gave his uncle a brief scowl before he wiped all expression from his face and went to take his place around the three dimensional map of the castle and surrounding grounds. The map was actually nothing more than a fancy illusion created by a series of wards that Ryuu designed to project an actual replica of the castle on a reduced scale. He'd stumbled upon the idea on the night he'd finally finished the schematics for his projection pensieve.

The table was carved over with a Receiving Ward that was linked to well over two thousand Projection Wards scattered throughout the castle (it had taken him and thirty other people over two hundred hours to place all of the wards). Each floor was linked to a separate Receiver so that he could switch between floors or view the entire castle all at once. There was also an alternate ward based upon the Marauder's Map that could provide real-time locations for every single individual in the castle.

It had been a pain to design and set up but once it was up and running, it was far easier to use for their planning sessions than the parchment map had been. It wasn't a practical ward set, when you considered just how many actual wards had to be placed in order to cover the entire castle (minus the grounds) so it currently wouldn't work for the Ministry or places like Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Ryuu was trying to find a way to make it work with fewer ward sets required but so far hadn't figured out a way; once he did he'd be able to build a three-dimensional map of any town or building in a matter of hours instead of days or weeks.

_Maybe I need to switch to a wide-area scanning scheme instead of using a simple combination projection and monitoring scheme,_ Ryuu mused idly as he used his wand to adjust the map so that nine specific locations were shown. _Something similar to infrared or x-ray sweeps… I should ask Moody who enchanted his eye and what they enchanted it with to allow him to see through walls._

"Everyone's here, Major," Kimi cheekily announced when it became obvious that Ryuu wasn't paying attention.

"Arigatou," Ryuu replied as he snapped out of his contemplation and looked up to gaze at the faces gathered around him. He shifted the stack of folders he carried and handed them to Satoshi who was standing on his left; who then took one of the files before passing the stack to the person beside him who in turn took one and passed the stack to the next person until everyone had a copy of the file.

"Tonight's raid has three specific goals. The first goal is to limit the maneuverability of our foes; to that end we'll be deploying a series of traps in nine specific locations – the Entrance Hall, Umbridge's office, Umbridge's quarters, the Defense Classroom, Snape's quarters, Snape's office, the Potions Classroom, the Astronomy Tower, and the back courtyard. Those of you who attended the meeting preceding this know that we now have Portable Swaps available which will make our jobs that much easier. Of the nine locations we'll be hitting tonight, only five will be hit with the swamps. Those locations are; the Entrance Hall (with two swamps to fill the entire area), Snape's quarters, Umbridge's quarters, the Defense Classroom, and the back courtyard."

"Why not swamp them all?"

"There are too many protections on the two offices right now since we've targeted them almost exclusively over the past two weeks, we could cause an explosion and destabilize the foundation of the castle in the potions room due to all of the ingredients in there, and the tower won't be able to contain the swamp. Flying Squad Five and Six will be handling the courtyard and Entrance Hall. I'm hoping the Elf Squad One and Two will take the two private quarters; if not I will be summoning a pair of phoenixes to take in a Ground Squad One and Two to set up the swamps."

"Moody's already scanned both quarters and while they are warded they aren't as heavily protected as the two offices and easily by-passed. Ground Squad Four will be rigging the swamp in the Defense Classroom with Flying Squad One providing cover in the event they are caught in the act. Ground Squad Three, Five, and Six will be trapping the entrances Snape's office, Umbridge's office, and the Potions Classroom respectfully while Flying Squad Four will be trapping the Astronomy Tower."

"Why worry about the tower if the twins have plans to swap the telescopes this weekend?"

"Because if we hit the tower tonight they won't expect us to hit it again this weekend and tonight is when the seventh years normally have their Astronomy class and I want any who attend the class completely out of the way for the entire night," Ryuu explained as he switched the map to show the entrances to the four common rooms.

"Our second goal is to temporarily seal the entrances to all four common rooms to prevent any students from exiting their houses; again to keep them out of our way while the rest of our forces focus on our main goal which is to secure the Chamber of Secrets as a refuge in the event that all third through first year students need to be evacuated to protect them from Umbridge's growing viciousness. Moony has the warding to seal the door that replaced the original entrance and Padfoot has the linked portal doors with one half to be set up here in the Command Center and the other just outside the main Chamber beneath the school. Once the Chamber has been secured and we have safe passage available we will start the renovations to make it habitable and start stocking it with food and supplies."

"Everyone participating in the raids tonight will need to assemble in the staging area no later than eight-forty-five for debriefing and to pick up their supplies for the evening. The twins will have someone on hand to teach those who will be handling the swamps how to safely transport them and activate them. We'll need one person (or elf if the elves will help swamp the two private quarters) for each of the six swamps that we'll be setting up tonight from the squads that will be hitting those targets; so have someone in mind when you show up so we don't have to scramble at the last minute."

"All squads are to deploy no later than nine-twenty and have the traps in place by ten; that will roughly give us two hours to secure the entrance to the Chamber and set up the portals. Those teams that are not participating will be on standby in the event that one of the teams in the field runs into trouble. Are there any questions? No? Good. The files I passed out have all the details of which traps and bombs will be used in each area in addition to the six swamps. If any one thinks of anything I missed don't hesitate to let me know so we can deal with it before we deploy this evening."

Ryuu then took the momentary confusion of the meeting breaking up to slip away from his uncle in order to avoid the man's prying questions about his health. He knew his uncle was just concerned about him but it was just a simple headache (induced by the frequent contact with the dark magic) and there was no point in making everyone worry about something that would go away on its own in time (once he wasn't coming into constant contact with it).

Ryuu stepped out of the hidden lift and back into his office only to stumble over his feet as a particularly sharp stab of pain laced through his brain. He reached out and leaned against the wall until the pain passed. Five minutes later, he slowly pushed away from the wall and stepped inside his office and closed the door to the hidden lift. He took a couple more tentative steps to make certain his head wouldn't explode with pain a second time before he made his way to his desk and sank into the leather office chair that Dobby had found for him. Ryuu then leaned forward and pressed his face onto the cool surface of the desk and sighed a second time as the burning, stabbing pain in his head ebbed just a touch.

Shinjin glided over from her perch in the corner of his office and landed on the desk just beside Ryuu a moment later, her voice rising in a soft, soothing song that further eased the pain. Ryuu sat up and propped his chin on one hand as he smiled gratefully at his familiar and stroked her back with his other hand. Tenji soon claimed Ryuu's lap where he kneaded his paws against Ryuu's thighs for a minute before curling up into a ball and promptly dropping off to sleep while purring contentedly. Ryuu chuckled softly as he dropped the hand that had been petting Shinjin down to scratch Tenji's ears while he sat up just enough so he could continue petting the phoenix with his other hand. He managed to enjoy the moment of peace for about ten minutes before someone knocked on his door and Cedric Diggory stuck his head inside a heart beat later.

"Hey, Ryuu, I need your help getting the protective wards integrated into the new brooms that were delivered this morning. The wards are interfering with the flight and breaking charms for some reason and we won't be able to get the final two Flying Squads airborne this evening without them," Cedric stated as he straightened up and entered the office.

"On my way," Ryuu replied as he regretfully lifted the sleeping kneazle off his lap as he stood up before settling him back down on his chair. He then gave the phoenix one final scratch under the chin as he whispered a soft thank you before hurrying after the lead commander of the Flying Squads.

It turned out that the wards were being installed backwards and upside down on the brooms (easy to do since they consisted of two silver rings strung together with a thin silver ribbon) and he took the time to show them which ring was supposed to be attached near the bristles and which side of the ribbon should be flush against the broom. Once the wards were correctly placed on the brooms there were no further problems so the two squads took the brooms and put them through their paces and practiced their flight formations.

"Just out of curiosity, why does it matter so much which way the wards are attached?" Cedric asked as the two of them watched the squads practicing.

"Same reason you don't fly the broom bristles first," Ryuu replied with a shrug. "It has to do with aerodynamics and wind resistance; the wards are designed to reduce friction in addition to protecting the brooms from being jinxed in midair or flamed out of the sky. The shape of the ward and the way it pulls the air around the broom as it flies works in conjunction with the flight charms. When they were backwards the charms and wards were working against each other which interfered with the breaking charm."

"When do you find the time to figure all of that out let alone design, test, and produce the wards?" Cedric inquired as he glanced down at the shorter teen. "I mean, you never stop. I rarely ever see you just sitting down and rest like you were when I found you in your office just now."

"All I do is come up with the ideas, make a few samples and then pass them to the researchers in Japan for testing. Once they approve the new design, I make a master etching and those with good carving skills actually make most of the wards with the completed products being tested for flaws during Defense lessons. I just don't have time to do everything myself even if it appears that way sometimes." _It helps to have a time turner too,_ Ryuu added silently.

Both of them laughed a bit over that as Ryuu told him the squads looked good before heading back to his office to start on the paperwork he'd been avoiding earlier. He hadn't even made it halfway back to his office when he was waylaid by Hermione to go over the requisition lists and figure out the best place to go for alternate suppliers since prices were being jacked up in England due to their mini-war (both sides purchasing large quantities which made ingredients scarce and the demand greater).

Ryuu suggested she break the orders down in such a way that she was purchasing enough to make five batches of each potion and place those smaller orders with suppliers from multiple countries and have the ingredients shipped through Japan to by-pass the tariffs that were now being added to any shipments sent directly to Hogwarts. If they staggered the orders just right then they'd always have a steady supply of the most needed ingredients coming in so they'd never end up with a shortage or a surplus that went bad before they could use it.

He hadn't even got to finish saying goodbye to Hermione before Neville was asking him where he wanted the clippings of Devil's Snare that had been planted in six inch by twenty-four inch oak planters. Ryuu told him to move them into one of the empty store rooms on the left side of the third floor corridor and to have one of the adults ward the door to prevent them from being stumbled upon accidentally; the cuttings were to be part of the defense wards for the Chamber of Secrets where they'd be protecting the main entrance through the bathroom.

After that he was dragged back down to the Command Center to go over the ward schemes they would be using to seal off the main entrance to the Chamber of Secrets with Remus and debate the pros and cons of having a portal installed inside the inner Chamber as opposed to setting it up just outside of the main Chamber with Sirius. Sirius wanted it placed inside since it would mean one less obstacle in transporting people while Ryuu originally wanted it outside for an added level of protection. Limiting the number of people allowed to activate the portal would solve the security issues but raise logistics issues in the event of an emergency if one of those people couldn't be found.

Kimi suggested linking the portal to pendants that could be linked to the magical signature of the person they were first issued to so that anyone wearing a pendant could open the portal and pass through. The only problem with that would be the number of pendants floating around and the chances of an unlinked one falling into the wrong hands. After an hour of arguing with his godfather, Ryuu told him to come up with three viable security measures that could easily be installed and were both quick and simple to activate and he'd consider installing the portal inside the heart of the Chamber.

When he was finished with that, Ryuu headed to the temporary mess hall to grab lunch only to end up being dragged to the research labs by the twins to discuss a few of the projects they wanted to start working on. Ryuu approved the Extendable Ears, Prying Portraits, and Treacle Toad Treats but vetoed the Nosebleed Nougats saying there was too big of a risk of the younger students loosing too much blood if they accidentally ate one. He also nixed the idea of importing Peruvian Instant Darkness Power in large quantities unless they could come up with a method of allowing their troops to see through the darkness without allowing the enemy to do the same; he did give them permission to buy a small amount for testing purposes because it wasn't a bad idea (just not a practical one until they could bypass the handicap it represented).

By the time he got out of the labs, lunch was long over and Ryuu's headache was once again stabbing into his brain as he took a shortcut back to his office to hide for a bit in the hopes that Shinjin could sooth his aching head while he called Dobby to get some leftovers. Unfortunately, peace was not to be found as he had company waiting for him in his office in the form of Healer Inoue looking to let him know that they'd finished gathering everything they needed from the two Hufflepuffs and he could heal them whenever he was ready. Sighing, Ryuu called for Dobby and asked him if he could dig up a sandwich or something for him to eat on the way to the Infirmary; he knew he'd need the extra energy if he was to avoid passing out halfway through the extraction and purification process.

As he accepted his sandwich and a butterbeer from Dobby, Shinjin glided over him to and attached herself to his shoulder. He scratched the phoenix under the chin as he ate his sandwich and listened to Healer Inoue giving a brief report on the two girls he would be extracting the dark magic from. Ryuu listened intently, occasionally asking a question or two between bites; silently noting that for once the healer had not mentioned the phrase that had been cut into the two first years' hands.

When Ryuu finally got his first look of the tender and still bleeding wounds he knew exactly why the healer hadn't mentioned it earlier; it would have pissed Ryuu off enough that he would have been tempted to track down Snape and hex him into an unidentifiable mess. Standing in front of the two teary eyed and frightened girls, Ryuu was forced to keep his temper firmly in check as he smiled gently at them and promised them he would make the words and the pain disappear in just a few minutes and asked them to be brave for just a little longer.

Settling Shinjin on the rail of the hospital bed where the two girls were perched so she wouldn't be in the way while he worked, Ryuu lifted the first girl's hand in his and covered the words '_You can't protect them all._' with his other hand as he closed his eyes and centered his emotions. The pain his head spiked for a moment but he ignored it by force of will as he drew on the raw ambient magic running through the castle; the air around his hands and the girl's hand shimmered red and gold as he reached out with his magic and plucked the end of the thread of dark magic clinging to the terrible words and began drawing it out and way from her hand.

Ten minutes later, he had the ball of black and green magic secured in a globe of red and gold. Pulling his hand away he smiled warmly at the girl and told her to look at her hand; the little girl's brown eyes grew wide and she began crying happily as she threw her arms around Ryuu and hugged him tight. Ryuu gently ran his hand over her hair and back to comfort her as he fought back his own tears as the pain in his head doubled and shifted as it spread deeper into his brain and traveled closer to the base of his neck. He then gently disentangled the girl so he could tend to her friend's hand; this time removing the words '_Can you watch them while you sleep?_' from the back of the girl's hand.

When he finished, Ryuu climbed shakily to his feet, praised the girls for being so brave, and asked Shinjin to watch over them for a little while longer (the young phoenix having started singing the moment Ryuu had started pulling out the dark magic). He then gathered the two globes of dark magic and tucked them in his pocket as he asked Healer Inoue to see that Shinjin made it back to his office in about an hour. Healer Inoue tried to talk Ryuu into resting for a bit when he noticed how pale Ryuu had grown but Ryuu assured him he would be alright.

The older wizard shook his head at Ryuu and pressed a Headache Potion into his hands before waving him on his way (letting the teen know that his uncle hadn't forgotten their earlier conversation). Ryuu reluctantly drank the potion (knowing it would at least take the edge off the pain), thanked the healer, and hurried towards one of the Secure Chambers that he'd helped designed so he could have a reinforced room in which to cleanse the taint from the dark magic so no one would be caught in the backlash of magic that the process created.

As he traveled through the corridor, Ryuu hoped one of the chambers were currently free; he didn't want to wait too long to purify the two strands of tainted magic he'd collected since the longer he waited the harder they would be to cleanse. He was in luck; two of the chambers were empty. Stepping into the closest room, Ryuu sealed the room to prevent someone from accidentally walking in while he was working and activated the protective wards as he pulled out the two globes of contained dark magic and noticed the foul magic in them pushing and straining against the protective magic trapping it.

Growling, Ryuu tucked the less active globe back into his pocket while he grabbed the first one between his hands and began gathering magic once again as he watched the glow of the red and gold magic containing the dark magic shift to a pale silvery red as it began throwing off heat. Bracing himself, Ryuu firmly called out, "Purgo!" and the magic trapped in his hands released a shock wave that blasted through into the room, knocking Ryuu from every direction as it hit the walls and bounced back; a deafening thunder clap filling the room and making his ears ring.

Without even pausing to catch his breath, Ryuu pulled out the second orb and repeated the process. This time it didn't take as long to build up the magic necessary as he'd already had most of the magic he needed left over from the first cleansing. The second shockwave filled the room and when it bounced back and hit Ryuu, instead of just battering him like the first one did, it passed through him, stole his breath away, and dropped him to his knees. Shaking off the strangeness of the second shockwave, Ryuu stood back up, unexpectedly colliding with the two glittering gold globes of recently purified magic after which they were absorbed into his body instead of dissipating as they usually did.

Ryuu stilled as the shock of absorbing the magic, a feeling not unlike being zapped by a low level current, passed though his body before vanishing. Ryuu shivered and spent a minute internally scanning himself and his magic; searching for any sign that there was something wrong with him or his magic. Once he was satisfied that nothing was amiss, Ryuu shut down the room and once more headed back towards his office.

As he walked, the idea of absorbing what was left of the dark magic (even if it had been cleansed) bothered him once more and he pulled out his war journal, flipped it to a blank page in the back, and made a note of what had happened; making certain to note that he'd had a headache, pulled the magic from two eleven year old girls, drank the potion for the pain, and then purified the magic he'd pulled from the curses. He made certain to note that the second backlash from the cleaning had taken his breath away and knocked him to his knees as it passed through him instead of hitting him physically like it usually did.

Snapping the journal shut, he entered his office and found his father waiting for him with the account ledgers. Ryuu sighed and gave his father a half grin and a fake pained groan which made his father laugh. Ryuu shook his head and took his seat while his father cracked open the books and the two of them began going over the current budget, the proposed budget changes, and Ryuu's current state of finances. Several people slipped in and out of Ryuu's office during this time, picking up various files, dropping off reports, and asking for his opinion on various portions of the raid scheduled for that evening. At the end of their meeting, Takashi had Ryuu sign the authorization forms (which his father had gotten through Bongledash sometime after their meeting that morning) that would allow him to have the newly allocated funds transferred into the 'war' vault they'd created.

After his father left, Ryuu was approached by his godfather again and the two of them dove back into the earlier debate of where to place the portal. Sirius offered three very simple solutions to the potential weakness in security that while not exactly easy to implement wouldn't really take all that much to complete; once they began renovations on the chamber. Ryuu gave the suggestions serious consideration, made changes to two of them and told his godfather to make certain that the newly revised measures were implemented before the actual renovations took place; so that the portal could be secured as soon as possible. Sirius crowed triumphantly and Ryuu snorted over the man's antics.

The fifteen year old then spent an hour going through the reports and paperwork on his desk, signing off on acquisition slips, writing out suggestions for problems that cropped up, and vetoing the frivolous, the ridiculous, and the dangerous. While part of his mind was focusing on that, another part was worrying at the changes he'd considered making to the map creation wards, and a final part was wondering what else he could do to drive Umbridge mad (or insane) enough to either flee the castle in disgrace or do something so foolish and dangerous that the Ministry would be forced to cart her off to Azkaban (without anyone actually being harmed). He was just authorizing Hermione to add the needed ingredients for an Invigoration Draught to her revised ingredient manifest when a single thought floated to the front of his mind and he set his quill down and focused on just that thought.

For a good half hour, he examined the new idea from every angle; making a list of the pros and cons, what it would take to make it happen, and how to keep it from getting out of control. A small part of him was repulsed by the mere idea of even _thinking_ about following through with the idea while the rest of him tried to remain objective. In the end, he nodded reluctantly and decided if things got out of hand he could always take care of it much the way he had the first time. He wrote out a list of everything he would need in order to accomplish his task in his journal, tweaked the plan a bit to make it work better, and wrote out several orders for two of the Secure Chambers to be cleaned and prepped and a note for his father to meet him in his rooms.

He sent those off by messenger spell (marked urgent) and headed to his quarters so he could start his own preparations. He was hip deep in his expanded trunk, pulling things out left and right as he searched for the items he needed, when he felt a presence enter his room. Expecting it to be his father, he spoke without bothering to pull his head out of the trunk.

"I'm sure you must think me mad, tousan, but I honestly think this could make a big difference in the end," Ryuu stated. "I gave it a lot of thought just now and aside from a few shaky bits I've got the plan mostly ironed out and if we can pull the switch off during the raid no one would be the wiser."

"You are the one cleansing the dark magic from the children and the halls of the castle, are you not?" a voice that most assuredly _not_ his father asked from just behind Ryuu the moment the teen had stopped speaking.

Ryuu stiffened, jerked his head and shoulders up out of the trunk, and whirled around to stare at the ghost that had tormented him the most when he first arrived in the castle. The Gray Lady stared at him with desperation, determination, and remorse as she hovered with her feet just off the floor on the other side of the room. It was the first time any of the ghosts had dared to approach him since he'd helped Moaning Myrtle pass over at the end of his second year and he felt decidedly uncomfortable. He was no longer terrified of the ghosts as he'd been in the beginning but that didn't mean he welcomed their presence. Ryuu frowned at her, wondering why she'd seek him out now.

"Please, I must know, are you the one purifying that which befouls the castle?"

"How do you know that?" Ryuu asked softly instead of answering her. "That knowledge was sealed inside of a Secret Keeper."

"You can hide nothing from the dead," the Gray Lady replied. "Especially when what you are trying to hide directly affects them and their chosen home. We ghosts are a part of the castle and we can feel what you are doing. We are the ones that have been directing the magic of the castle to help you; because you are the one that has been helping the students that we are charged with protecting. I will ask you again; are you the one purifying the dark magic or is it another under your command?"

"Yes, I am the one," Ryuu replied slowly as he eyed the ghost with trepidation. "Why?"

"There is magic most foul within the castle," the Gray Lady stated. "To my eternal shame, it was I that allowed it to enter. The war you fight against the dark magic will only grow worse unless you remove this magic first; as like draws like and it is far stronger and far older than the pure magic you return to the castle."

"What are you…?"

"You will find it on the seventh floor, the elves will know where," the Gray Lady interrupted. "In the Room of Hidden Things; you will find that which was not meant to exist. Let no hand touch it but yours least your fated foe rise for a second time within these walls. When it is gone the rest of the dark magic in the castle will weaken and fall apart."

"What exactly…?"

"Please, I beg of you," the Gray Lady pleaded as she interrupted him a second time. "I can no longer touch the physical world or I would do this myself for it is my fault it found a home here in the castle. I beg you, child, cleanse the castle of this most wretched of magics."

Ryuu opened his mouth to reply only to see the ghost vanish into the floor as the door to his bedroom opened wider and his father walked into the room. Frowning, Ryuu stared at the point where the ghost had vanished as his mind frantically tried to make sense of what had just happened and what exactly he was supposed to find and cleanse.

"Ryuu-kun, how certain are you that this idea of yours is going to… Ryuu?"

"Tousan, when did the world turn mad?" Ryuu asked as he glanced up at his father with the confusion he was feeling mirrored in his eyes along with a touch of pain as his headache from earlier returned with a vengeance.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Takashi inquired as he frowned at Ryuu. "Unless you're referring to your insane idea to unleash that poltergeist on the castle once more?"

"No… the poltergeist can be cleansed of the dark magic like the pixies and doxies and I will offer him his freedom from the demon jar in exchange for his name so I can add it to the Yujincho," Ryuu countered. "That wasn't what I was referring to though."

"You would bind the youkai to you?" Takashi asked softly, disappointment clear in his voice (he had after all spent more than half his lifetime freeing the youkai bound to his half of the Yujincho).

"Don't be daft, tousan," Ryuu snorted as he rolled his eyes at his father before diving back into his trunk while ignoring the throbbing in the back of his skull. "Just because I will blackmail one youkai into creating a contract doesn't mean I'm going to be like grandma and go on a name-collecting spree just so I can say I've bested every youkai I've crossed paths with through force or trickery. I've already cleansed and released over twenty youkai since you first started teaching me how to use the Yujincho four weeks ago (and that's not even counting all of the ones I cleansed that hadn't had their names in the Yujincho; isn't that answer enough?"

"Gomen, Ryuu, you're absolutely correct. I'm sorry I doubted you," Takashi replied with a light blush. "Your request caught me off guard though and when you said you wanted to bind him… I jumped to conclusions."

"Wow, talk about weird…"

"Nani…?"

"We just had our first role-reversal moment," Ryuu cheekily pointed out. "Normally, I'm the one jumping to conclusions and apologizing."

"Gaki," Takashi growled teasingly. "So, how are you going to get the jar from Dumbledore-shishou? Are you going to just ask him for it?"

"Nope, I'm going to pull a switch and he's not going to know what I'm doing until it is already done," Ryuu replied as he finally found what he was looking for and pulled out a pair of sealing jars identical to the one Ryuu had used to seal the poltergeist and the one he remembered his father using to seal Hagrid's three-headed dog. "I figured we could swap both jars and use the dog to guard the chamber of things turn ugly."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Takashi sighed as he took one of the jars from Ryuu and set about creating the seal for the jar so that it appeared to hold a youkai inside.

"I hope I do too, tousan," Ryuu replied seriously as he sealed the second jar. "I'm far more concerned about what happened just before you arrived."

Ryuu went on to explain his encounter with the Gray Lady; what she said, what she didn't say, her body language as she made her plea, and the emotions she projected as she begged him to help. They discussed the new development as they worked; trying to interpret the hidden meaning in the Gray Lady's cryptic words and working out a way to get more information either from the Gray Lady herself or from one of the other ghosts in the castle.

They even called one of the Hogwarts' elves and asked the attentive little creature if he knew of the room that the ghost had called the Room of Hidden Things (and if the elves would be willing to help plant the swamps in Umbridge and Snape's rooms). By the time they finished with their preparations, they had two firm plans in place to deal with the retrieval of the poltergeist and for looking into the matter of the dark magic spoken of by the ghost.

"You do know Kakashi isn't going to be pleased when he finds out you intend to explore that room on your own looking for 'dark magics most foul' right?" Takashi inquired as they left Ryuu's quarters and headed towards the Command Center.

"Oji will undoubtedly complain," Ryuu agreed. "But once he knows what is going on he'll not have a problem with me doing what I have to."

"I'll bet a week's worth of midnight feedings for Kenji and one full day of baby-sitting that he won't even wait to hear the full plan before threatening to lock you up."

"Alright, but if you're wrong you have to help me sneak out of the castle one weekend so I can take Luna out to see a movie."

His father had barely finished agreeing before Luna appeared in the hallway in front of them from out of one of the hidden passages, holding in her hand the request Ryuu had sent to her. The moment they reached her, she fell into step beside Ryuu; her hand immediately seeking his. Ryuu smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze as they turned the corner and entered yet another secret passage that would take them directly to the Command Center.

"Fred and George are washing out the two chambers you requested," Luna announced once they'd reached the room. "Do you have a hand drawn copy of the circle and symbols you wanted drawn on the floor and walls of the first chamber?"

"Hai," Ryuu replied as he passed Luna his war journal after opening it up to the page where he'd written out his initial plan earlier. "It's important that the dirt on the floor is spread as evenly as possible before the circle is drawn with the cherry branch and don't allow the branch to scrap the stone as you draw it; doing so will weaken the circle. Neville should be able to help you bring in enough dirt to give you at least three inches in order to avoid that. Use white and yellow chalk on the walls, no white symbol should appear beside another white symbol and the same goes for the yellow."

"Got it, can I keep this for now or are you going to need it?" Luna asked as she indicated his journal. "And where are you hiding your chalk?

"You can hold onto it for as long as you need," Ryuu replied without hesitation. "I won't need it until later tonight when we debrief everyone. The chalk you will find in my office, middle drawer on the left. You can get the cherry branch from okaasan; just tell her you need it for a circle and she'll get it for you. Oh, and have the twins prepare the third chamber for another cleansing as well. Once all three are ready, seal them and don't let anyone step inside of them let alone use them. All testing will need to be placed on hold until I'm finished."

"Can't you do the purifications in the same room?" Takashi asked with a puzzled frown. "You've always done them in the same room before."

"When working with small threads it's not a big deal to use the chambers as is several times in a row," Ryuu replied as he adjusted the table map to show both Dumbledore's office and the seventh floor corridor where the elf had told him the Room of Hidden Things (or as the elf called it, the Come and Go Room) could be found. "I don't know how much dark magic Peeves has absorbed over the years and according to the Gray Lady this other bit of dark magic is both bigger and far worse than anything else in the castle. I don't want to take any chances of outside interference during the cleansings."

"How are you going to hide from the Headmaster's spies?" Luna asked as she peered into the miniature version of Dumbledore's office where the former Headmasters and Headmistresses portraits hung on the walls.

"Shadow phoenixes and illusions; since the elves are willing to help set up a couple of the swamps, Satoshi-kun can go with tousan to make the swap for the poltergeist. He's good enough at the illusion magic that the two of them won't be seen," Ryuu replied as he walked around the table to peer closely at the blank stretch of wall where the elf claimed the hidden room could be found. It didn't look like anything special; just a blank section of stone. "Ah! That should have been the first clue; there are no blank sections that large anywhere else in the castle; there are always portraits, tapestries, statues, or armor covering the walls through the rest of the castle. We'll want to hide that stretch of wall to prevent it from being discovered by the Toad; wouldn't do for her or her toadies to have access to that remarkable room."

"Professor Trelawney often opens the room there to hide her sherry bottles, the nargles don't like it though; they never follow me when I walk down that stretch of corridor," Luna commented as she joined Ryuu in studying the section of hallway.

"Trelawney? Huh, should have seen that one coming," Ryuu commented as he grabbed a self-inking quill from his pocket and flipped through his journal (which Luna was still holding) until he reached his to do list and added a note to have the elves hide the blank stretch of wall where the Come and Go Room was located.

"I'll be going now, do try not to allow the Blibbering Humdingers to turn your brain to mush, my Dragon," Luna announced once he finished as she rose up on her tip-toes and kissed him softly before she vanished into one of the many hidden passages leading into the room.

"Are you going to go in on foot or take your broom?" Takashi asked to bring Ryuu's attention back to the matter at hand instead of staring off after his girlfriend.

"Broom," Ryuu replied. "It's the fastest way to travel between here and there. I'll leave here ten minutes before the traps are to be sprung which will allow me to move freely about the castle and by the time I get to that stretch of the corridor I shouldn't have to worry about anyone sneaking up on me because we'll have trapped them all. The only one likely to be out and about to even see me, aside from our troops, would be Moody and at most he'll fire a stunner or two at the walls and then curse about rotten kids flying through the halls before laughing and going about his rounds."

"I was under the impression you would be running things from the Command Center tonight," Hatake declared as he walked up behind Ryuu and took a glance at the two sections currently on display on the map. "Why do you have the Headmaster's office up? His office isn't included in the raids for tonight."

"Actually, it is now. I'm pulling Satoshi-kun to escort tousan to raid his office," Ryuu countered as he shifted focus and expanded the Headmaster's office so it filled the entire table. "The elves already agreed to hit the two staff quarters tonight; which frees up both teams we had assigned to swamp their rooms. They'll be flashing in via shadow phoenix (that reminds me I need to summon them and find out what it will take to convince them to agree) and Satoshi can use his illusion magic to hide their presence from the portraits. I'll ask Fawkes to kindly turn a blind eye to their assignment and leave Dumbledore in the dark."

"What are you going to be doing? It doesn't sound like you'll be involved in that portion of the raid."

"I'll be making an extraction of my own up on the seventh floor."

"That's outside our perimeter; who are you taking to cover your back?"

"Shinjin and Tenji," Ryuu replied.

"That's not good enough, you'll need someone to provide look out and cover should you be caught out alone by a group of Umbridge's people."

"Tenji will watch my back and Shinjin can play lookout," Ryuu calmly as reached out to show his father where Dumbledore had placed the two demon jars. "I don't know if he's got them warded but chances are they're just sitting there, tousan, so all you'll have to do is swap them out. I'll send a Remus with the two of you to check for certain though, because if you trip one of Dumbledore's wards he'll come in with his wand blazing."

"Sounds simple enough, how certain are you that he won't notice the difference?" Takashi asked.

"Will one of you please explain to me what is going on and why you're even thinking of allowing him to go out there alone before I hex you both and lock Ryuu-kun in a closet?" Hatake growled as he glared at them both.

"You were right, tousan, he didn't even wait to hear the full plan before threatening to lock me up; guess that means you win. I suppose that means I owe you a week's worth of midnight feedings, ne?" Ryuu groused as he glanced at his smirking father.

"And one full day of babysitting so I can take your mother out for a day," Takashi reminded him.

"Got it… next weekend would probably be best since I'll be down supervising the renovations in the Chamber this weekend and I'd rather not take Kenji down there with me."

"What are the two of you talking about!?"

"Nothing!" Ryuu and Takashi both crowed at the same time before looking at each other and laughing.

"Sorry, oji," Ryuu added a moment later as his laughter faded. He then turned serious as he added, "I need you to oversee tonight's raids from the Command Center. I originally intended to be here but there's something else that needs to be done and I have to do because apparently I am the only one who can do it. Before you tell me it's too big of a risk you need to know that if I'm not the one to do this then we could very well end up with someone far worse than Umbridge to deal with according to the one who passed me the information. I'll fill you in on the details later; this is not the time or the place to discuss what I'll be doing later tonight."

"You are going to drive me gray," Hatake muttered.

"You were gray before I met you," Ryuu snorted as he flicked a rolled up piece of parchment at his uncle. "But now that you mention it I think you might be going white… and is your hairline starting to recede already?"

When the rest of the night's leaders arrived in preparation for the final briefing ten minutes later, Ryuu was still laughing and ducking a steady barrage of stinging hexes while Hatake chased him about the room calling him an impudent brat.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Finally finished! This chapter did not like me very much but I've finally finished cleaning it up. I'd originally wanted to show more of Umbridge and some of what the students were doing to protest against Umbridge's detentions but this chapter was already overflowing with information. I even had the chapter originally titled 'The Systematic Destruction of a Demonic Toad' but since it didn't really show any of the pranks that were played on her I changed the title to one that fit better. _

_I did manage to fit in a brief reference to the Yujincho and how Ryuu has been cleansing the magical youkai of the dark magic that has been corrupting him. He's also been interacting with some of them in order to use them in the pranks (the pixies and doxies two examples) but they'll play a larger part in a few chapters._

_That reminds me, someone had asked me whether all magical creatures were youkai in a review a while back and I can't remember whether or not I answered that question. The answer is no, not all youkai are magical creatures and not all magical creatures are youkai. Centaurs, unicorns, and dementors are three examples of magical creatures that are not youkai, the Nargles, Nyanko-sensei, and Natori's servants are all examples of non-magical youkai, and boggarts, Peeves, house elves, and thestrals are all examples of magical youkai. _

_Anyway, I hope everyone had a pleasant Christmas or other happy holiday since I'm not familiar with all of the various holidays that take place around this time of year. Next chapter will have Ryuu's next meeting with Peeves and will reveal what the Gray Lady wanted Ryuu to cleanse (though I'm sure more than one of you can guess). I should have that chapter ready for posting by Friday. ~ Jenn_


	41. Dark Magic, Artifacts, & Soul Fragments

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 40: Of Dark Magic, Ancient Artifacts, and Soul Fragments<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>December 1995<em>

Three days after the raids, Takashi stood in front of the observation window looking into the sealed chamber where Ryuu was standing at the edge of the circle Luna had drawn into the dirt that had been shifted into the room just for this ritual. Sitting in the very center of the circle on the floor, was the demon jar holding the demonic poltergeist that Ryuu had sealed towards the end of his first year at Hogwarts. Watching the unfolding scene alongside of the forty year old were Hatake, Flitwick, Kimura, Satoshi, Luna, and the Weasley twins.

As they watched, Ryuu lifted his arms and a gust of spiritual power rushed up from the circle at his feet, blasting Ryuu with what looked like a strong wind to those unable to see the bright white-blue light that rose up from the ground. Takashi watched as the stream of power rose up before it dove back down and forced itself into the seal holding the poltergeist securely in the demon jar. The seal cracked like dried paint and peeled away from the lid under the pressure of the spiritual power and just seconds later the lid cracked in two and tumbled from the jar as a rush of colors swirled up from the depths of the demon jar before solidifying into Peeves the Poltergeist.

The poltergeist shook itself out like a dog and grinned manically before it caught sight of Ryuu standing in the room and the expression on its face turned positively murderous as he swooped down to attack the fifteen year old. As one, those watching winced as Ryuu drew back his fist and nailed the poltergeist right between the eyes and sent the magical demon flying into the wall hard enough to shake the room. What followed was another ten minutes of the poltergeist trying to attack the teen and Ryuu in turn constantly knocking it about the room.

Eventually, Peeves hovered sullenly in front of Ryuu; the poltergeist finally willing to listen to what Ryuu had to say. When Ryuu held a small jar of ink, a quill, and a single sheet of blessed paper out to the poltergeist, the magical youkai pitched a fit as he attacked the walls, the floor, and the ceiling in the hopes of escaping the room. When it couldn't escape, it tried attacking Ryuu once again only to be faced with the paper from which it shied away. Ryuu then lifted the paper in one hand as he said something those watching couldn't hear before pointing at the sealing jar sitting in the middle of the room.

The poltergeist got down on its knees and begged; Ryuu shook his head and held up the paper before pointing to the jar a second time. Ryuu then knelt down beside the poltergeist and spoke to it further before once again offering it the paper and writing supplies. Takashi held his breath as the poltergeist accepted the bottle of ink, cut his finger, and added a couple drops of blood to the ink before taking the quill and mixing the ink for a moment. The poltergeist then took the paper with shaking hands and wrote out his name before reluctantly passing it back to Ryuu who promptly inserted it into the back of the Yujincho.

The poltergeist then slunk into the farthest corner and sulked as Ryuu wiped the room clear of circle and symbols with a couple of waves of his wand. Ryuu exited the room five minutes later with the subdued poltergeist in tow, the teen nodded to the twins who filed into the used room and immediately set to clearing out the dirt, washing down the walls, and neutralizing any lingering magic in the room.

"That went better than expected," Takashi stated as Ryuu passed him the now empty demon jar.

"I had hoped he'd be a little less bent on revenge when he was first let out," Ryuu replied with a hint of annoyance in his tone. "He'll behave now though. I'll use the next chamber to draw out the dark magic from his spirit but first I'm going to need to take a shower, put on clean robes, and grab something to eat. Can I get one of you to keep an eye on him to make certain he doesn't start causing trouble? We want him to focus his energy on Umbridge and the others; not those students on our side."

"I'll keep an eye on him," Professor Flitwick offered.

"Arigatou, sensei, I shouldn't be gone for more than thirty minutes," Ryuu replied before he vanished from the observation room.

An hour later, Takashi and the others were once again standing in front of an observation window as they watched Ryuu pull the dark magic from the poltergeist. Unlike the times when they'd watched the teen pull the tiny threads of black energy from cursed wounds in the Infirmary, where he made it look so effortless as he reached out and pulled free the tainted magic, they could see the fifteen year old struggling to unwind the seemingly endless threads of blackish green energy that clung tenaciously to the writhing poltergeist. Takashi chewed on the end of his thumb nervously as he watched the large mass of dark magic coalescing in the air beside Ryuu.

By the time Ryuu had pulled free the final thread of the tainted magic, the ball of disgusting black and green energy was just shy of half Ryuu's height. Holding the magic away from the poltergeist with one hand, Ryuu signaled to the watchers and Flitwick opened the door just wide enough for the poltergeist to pass out of the room before slamming it shut and throwing up the protective wards. The poltergeist curled up in the corner sobbing as everyone stared at him for a minute, shocked that the spirit's appearance had changed so much (going from looking like a crazed and twisted old man to what looked like an eleven year old child), before turning back to the window to watch as Ryuu cleansed the corrupted magic he'd pulled from the magical youkai.

The purification of the corrupted magic made the difficult extraction they'd witnessed just minutes earlier look like a cake walk in comparison. They could see the filthy strands of foul magic lashing out at Ryuu; the tainted threads at times appearing as if they were trying to take hold of Ryuu. They were all forced to look away at one point when the entire chamber lit up like the noon day sun due to the sheer volume of wild magic Ryuu was channeling in his efforts to cleanse the tainted magic.

When the light finally died down enough for them to look into the room once more, they saw Ryuu on his hands and knees in the center of the room; his clothes smoking slightly despite the protective wards he'd woven into them. The rest of the room had been scorched black from the backlash of magic released by the purging of the taint from the mass of magic.

"Why do I get the feeling we just missed something important," Hatake muttered as they watched Ryuu drop over onto his side and roll onto his back.

"Can we get him out of there yet?" Takashi asked tightly as he locked eyes on his son's smoking form.

"Not yet," Fred replied as he turned to monitor the meter attached to the wall beside the door. "There's too much unstable magic still floating around in there with him."

"He made it perfectly clear that we were not to open the door until the fluctuating levels of magic leveled off," George added with a frown as he peered over his brother's shoulder to study the gauge. "Shouldn't take more than half an hour according to the meter."

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><p>Inside the chamber, Ryuu closed his eyes and floated lazily within his mind as he felt the foreign magic racing through him. Much like the last threads of tainted magic he'd purified, the newly cleansed magic had merged with him before it could dissipate. Unlike the last time where the absorption of magic had barely been noticeable; this time Ryuu felt the magic shifting through him, integrating itself into his core and he wasn't certain he liked it.<p>

It wasn't painful, in fact it felt quite pleasant, what he didn't like was the fact that he'd had no say in the matter. He also had no idea why it was happening now, all of a sudden, considering he'd cleansed well over three hundred threads of dark magic between the night he'd pulled the tainted magic from Luna's hand and the threads he'd absorbed three days earlier and all of them had simply dissipated when he'd finished removing the corruption from the magic.

_It feels considerably odd to feel both energized and exhausted_, Ryuu decided as he opened his eyes and stared at the soot covered walls around him. _Damn, I overloaded the wards. This room will have to be striped, cleaned, neutralized, and re-warded before it can be used again. The clean-up crew is going to be unhappy with me and the researchers are going to be pissed to know it'll be another week before they can resume testing._

Ryuu then groaned when he realized he still had that other artifact to purge and cleanse; it would be far harder and far more risky because while it was younger magic it was also far more corrupt and far more dangerous than the mess he'd just dealt with. Closing his eyes again, Ryuu brought one hand up and pressed it over his eyes as he briefly wondered if he could actually deal with whatever it was in that diadem given that he'd barely managed to purge and cleanse the centuries of corruption that had been clinging to the poltergeist.

At that point, Ryuu must have dozed off for a bit because the next thing he heard was the soft crunching footsteps of someone walking across the grit covered floor even though he couldn't recall hearing the door open. Turning his head to the side, Ryuu opened his eyes and blurrily focused on his uncle's gray topped face before he closed his eyes once more.

"You planning on lazing about all day?" Hatake asked lightly as he crouched down beside Ryuu.

"Hnn…"

"I didn't think the floor would be all that comfortable," Hatake continued as he shifted, his shoes grinding against the soot and grit beneath him and Ryuu winced as the sound grated on his ears. "Come on, we need to get you cleaned up and the twins are itching to clean the room you've trashed."

"Tell'em not ta botha," Ryuu mumbled tiredly. "Wrds cmprmsd."

"Huh? Nani?"

"No gud…"

"Ryuu-kun, you're not making any sense."

Ryuu lifted one eye lid and rolled his eye up to stare up at his uncle before he raised his arm and waved it around listlessly to indicate the entire room while he said one word, "Boom."

"Boom?" Hatake repeated in disbelief as he watched Ryuu nod twice while his arm fell limply back onto the floor. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"He means the wards in the chamber were destroyed in the backlash of magic and the room is now useless," Flitwick explained as he walked up beside the two. "He shattered his own ward scheme; a ward scheme so powerful that it can hold back dragon flame and Fiendfyre. I couldn't even begin to imagine just how much magic it must have taken to accomplish that."

"Anyone know where Healer Inoue is right now?" Hatake asked as his frown deepened.

"In the Infirmary I'd imagine," Flitwick replied. "Mr. Diggory took him a couple of fifth years that managed to drop a statue on themselves while working on the renovations down below earlier this morning."

"Right, up we go then," Hatake replied as he lifted Ryuu into his arms and off the floor. "Is the hidden passage linked to this room still functioning or was it compromised by the overload as well?"

As if in response to his words, said passage popped open with a small creak and both adults glanced at each other because the passages in this part of the castle had never responded to spoken commands unless they were specifically password protected. The reason the door moved on its own soon made itself known as the now child-like poltergeist peeped around the now open door and shyly waved at them.

"Seeing him like that is going to take some getting used to," Flitwick mumbled as they followed after the mischievous spirit (his playful nature having come out once he'd gotten over the shock of being purged of well over two century's worth of dark magic).

"He seems lighter somehow; less spiteful and more… carefree or maybe more playful," Hatake commented absently.

"That's because I am," Peeves chanted in a singsong voice as he skipped circles around the trio.

Ryuu cracked open an eye and studied the poltergeist and felt none of the hostility he'd once felt from the youkai when he first met it in first year and he smiled. If he'd met such a mischievous and cheerful spirit when he'd been younger he probably would not have been as frightened of the youkai. Still smiling, Ryuu closed his eye and allowed himself to drift back off to sleep with the poltergeist's childish laughter and silly songs ringing softly in the background.

It would be some eight hours later when Ryuu finally woke up again and found himself in his own bed with Luna, two kneazles, and his phoenix curled up beside him. Sighing softly, Ryuu buried his nose in Luna's hair and breathed deeply, reveling in the peace of the moment; knowing that once it was known he was awake he'd have to get back to work.

"Hello, my Dragon, are you finally awake now?" Luna asked sleepily as she opened her eyes and tilted her chin up so she could see him.

"If I'm still sleeping, don't wake me," Ryuu replied as he shifted so he could kiss her tenderly. "I'd much rather dream of you than face another day of madness." Ryuu then proceeded to ravish Luna's lips with his as he pulled her closer and allowed himself to pretend he was just an average teenage boy alone with his beautiful girlfriend instead of an almost soldier fighting an almost war against a corrupt Ministry official masquerading as a school teacher.

He threaded the fingers of his right hand through her long pale traces as his left hand slipped down to massage her lower back. Luna moaned appreciatively as both of her hands reached up to tangle in his hair as she deepened their kiss, their tongues dueling as they each sought to taste the other's mouth. Ryuu groaned softly as Luna shifted so that she was straddling him over top of the covers; sending a flood of heat through him as her weight settled over his hips. His right hand slipped down to join his left in massaging her back as he lost himself to the feelings she was stirring in him.

A cascade of ice cold water hit the two of them seconds later and they sprang apart with loud yelps while the three animals gave voice to their own complaints as they fled to higher ground.

"Wow, would you look at that, a little water works just as well on teenagers as it does on dogs," Hatake quipped from where he was leaning against the open door as a dripping wet Ryuu pushed himself up just enough to glare at the older wizard. "Just making certain you're behaving yourself, Ryuu-kun, no need to look so offended."

"I think you're just jealous you don't have anyone to snog," Sirius barked with a laugh from behind the gray-haired wizard.

"I don't know, Padfoot-chan; we still don't know exactly how oji got Trelawney-sensei to cooperate with our prophecy swap earlier this year," Ryuu snarked with a trace of irritation.

"Hey, all I did was buy her a bit of booze," Hatake hastily protested.

"Admitting that out loud doesn't really make it sound all that much better," Remus pointed out with a chuckle as he pushed passed the now blushing wizard. "How are you feeling, Bandit? Aside from being a little wet?"

"He was feeling really great just a moment ago," Luna dreamily stated as she wrung the water from her hair, her eyes half closed and a smile on her lips.

"Not half as good as you felt," Ryuu whispered with a blush as he pushed the wet covers off of him in order to get up only to discover that he wasn't wearing anything but a pair of white boxers that didn't leave much to the imagination in their current soaked state. Luna, who'd just turned to glance at him when she'd heard his comment, meeped in surprise as she saw a bit more then she expected; her face turning bright red while her eyes went wide as she continued to stare, even after Ryuu pulled the covers back over his lap.

"Miss Lovegood, I think it would be best if you went and got changed out of your wet robes," Remus suggested with a cough that sounded more like a barely restrained laugh.

Luna meeped a second time and flew from the room while the three older wizards all started chuckling softly and Ryuu sent death glares at the three men. He couldn't believe they'd just totally embarrassed him so badly in front of his girlfriend like that.

"Cheer up, kid, it could have been worse," Sirius offered once he'd stopped laughing. "It could have been your parents and her father that had found the two of you making out in your bed and you practically naked beneath the covers."

Ryuu retaliated the only way he could without having his wand on hand; he threw several pillows at the three older wizards until they ducked out of the room and closed the door; their laughter growing softer as they walked away. Grumbling about dirty-minded, old bachelors and spoilsports; Ryuu slipped out of the soaked bed and grabbed a change of clothes before heading into his bathroom so he could take a hot shower before getting dressed. He came out to find that the elves had been in to dry, clean, and remake his bed while he'd been in the shower and he called out a brief thanks to the air, knowing that the elves would hear him even if they weren't in the room.

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><p>It would be a week before any of the adults would allow Ryuu to even attempt to pull and clean the foul magic clinging to the diadem he'd collected from the hidden room on the seventh floor. They'd been concerned over the amount of magic he'd used and the fact that his core had been overloaded with magic when by rights he should have been near drained; though Kimura again mentioned something about it being a side effect from him channeling wild magic as opposed to his own magic.<p>

Ryuu had almost mentioned the magic he'd absorbed several times but something always stopped him and he fully believed they'd seen it happen this time. Since they hadn't mentioned it around him, he figured they must not have been too worried about it.

While he was waiting for permission to deal with the crown, Ryuu spent his days launching attack after attack at the adults that had gravitated to Umbridge's side.

This included hitting both Moody and Babbling with a few less humiliating pranks in order to make certain that Umbridge didn't grow suspicious of his two spies. Peeves was played a key part in the increased attacks; the poltergeist pretending to be a student more often than not as he traveled through the castle delivering the various magical bombs the twins designed to classrooms, dorms, common rooms, and the staff room. Even the Great Hall wasn't safe from the poltergeist.

The child-like spirit had also taken to watching over and protecting the students, most notably the younger ones; a task the poltergeist had been charged with when he first moved into the castle but that he had stopped doing as the dark magic clinging to him slowly drove him insane. Ryuu almost couldn't believe the difference between the poltergeist's current behavior and the poltergeist's former behavior prior to his cleansing; that was how extreme the changes in the spirit were.

During the course of that week, with the help of Peeves, the house elves, and a dozen thestrals; Ryuu and his fellow protestors broke into the Hogwarts' library and stole every single book that was not locked in the restricted section. These books were then stored down in the Chamber of Secrets on the newly added shelves that covered one long side of the Chamber. They would have taken the books sooner but they'd had no place to store them until after the Chamber had been cleaned up and converted into a refuge (which included draining the water out of the Chamber and disposing of the basilisk's corpse).

Madam Pince was heard all through the castle that evening yelling, screaming, cursing, and wailing in turns over the loss of her precious books. When the restricted section vanished the next day she went catatonic in her distress and anger over the loss of her precious books (which had been the only reason why she'd been on Umbridge's side in the first place; because the toad had blackmailed her by threatening the books).

The day after Pince was taken out of the war, all of the first, second, and third years vanished in the middle of the night. The kids were a bit frightened when they woke up in a strange room but they quickly adjusted when they discovered that they wouldn't have to deal with Umbridge any more. From that night forward, the teachers on Ryuu's side spent their days down in the Chamber of Secrets handling the younger students' lessons and their evenings helping Ryuu continue his campaign against Umbridge.

Sadly, a major blow was struck to Ryuu's side when Dumbledore was once again removed as Headmaster when Umbridge placed the blame on him for the loss of three sevenths of the students. That same day, Umbridge was named Headmistress by the Minister of Magic. Ryuu (with the help of the house elves and Hogwarts) at least prevented her from gaining control of the Headmaster's office, the school wards, and the cooperation of the school's portraits.

Umbridge's first act as Headmistress was to grant Moody permission to use corporeal punishment on those children given detention. Moody gave the appearance of doing so with great relish while in actuality he used illusions and prerecorded screams to fool Umbridge while the students in question were actually sent down to join the younger students in the Chamber of Secrets where they'd be safe from further harm.

In this way they slowly rescued those fourth, fifth, and sixth years that had been caught between the two factions. It was also how they helped those children that were caught between a rock and a hard place where they couldn't bring themselves to join Umbridge but were too frightened to join Ryuu because of their fear of what Umbridge would do to their families (especially if they had siblings in the castle or relatives working for the Ministry).

Umbridge's second act was to combine all of the remaining students into one huge class with all lessons but Potions now taking place in the Great Hall; where Umbridge personally lectured them in Herbology, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, and History. She did graciously allow those teachers on her side to handle their own subjects (so long as they held the classes in the hall). Snape's potions lessons, aside from being the only classes not held in the Great Hall, were also the only lessons that were attended separately by year because he'd never have been able to maintain control of his lessons otherwise.

Her third act, and the one that would ultimately mark her down fall, was to allow the dementors back onto the school grounds and actually let them into the castle. She essentially used the damn things to keep the remaining students in line and to protect her from the various pranks and attacks Ryuu and the others aimed at her. She was also allowing the foul creatures to breed so that every two or three days there'd be another dozen or so of them filling the castle.

Ryuu's advisory council all agreed that it was a good thing they'd already pulled most of the children out of harms way. Ryuu, on the other hand, paced in agitation constantly from the moment the first pair of dementors arrived in the castle. He did not have pleasant memories of his encounters with the foul creatures from his third year and he had no desire to get close enough for them to affect him again.

Three days after Umbridge became Headmistress (a full week after he'd cleansed the poltergeist); Ryuu was granted permission to remove the tainted magic from the diadem. He wouldn't actually get around to cleansing it for another five days though as he spent that extra time upgrading the wards in one of the two useable Secure Chambers (the one he'd used to cleanse the tainted magic he'd pulled from Peeves still unusable). He hadn't wanted to risk destroying yet another room since it was taking so long to repair the last one he ruined, so he'd spent the first four days creating a ward that would absorb the backlash of magic without stealing magic during the cleansing process (something that had been exceedingly difficult since most absorption schemes routinely absorbed the magic from the air without discretion).

The new ward would be triggered the moment a shockwave of magic struck the ward but only if it met the requirements for power, force, and speed; in other words, the shockwave had to contain a minimum level of magic, be traveling outwards with a predetermined amount of force, and moving at a specific speed in order to trigger the runes. The exception was if the wards were in danger of overloading, at which point the fail safe would activate and siphon the excess magic that was above the limit the wards could handle regardless of the cause. The other fail safe was a filter rune that would prevent the wards from sucking up dark magic when it activated; this was to prevent any dark magic from being fed directly into the castle.

The day after the new wards were added, Ryuu was once again locked inside of a Secure Chamber preparing to cleanse the dark magic from the diadem that the Gray Lady had begged him to purify. Professor Flitwick, who'd until that day had never seen the object Ryuu had collected from the Room of Hidden Things, had exclaimed excitedly that Ryuu had found the long lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw. The diminutive professor probably would have picked it up to examine it if he could have entered the room at that point; an action that would have created far more problems according to the Gray Lady's warning. (One of the reasons Ryuu had not shown anyone what it was he'd collected).

Nyanko-sensei growled and reverted to his natural form with a puff of smoke the moment he'd seen the diadem; the wolf spirit pressing his face up against the observation window as he glared at the deceptively innocent looking crown. Takashi had needed to knock the youkai on the head with a fist in order to get him to back off and tell him what was wrong. Madara had actually whimpered and told him that the crown was a soul fragment; a cursed soul fragment that reeked of the same tainted magic he'd scented down in the Chamber of Secrets the night Ryuu had fought the beast of the Chamber.

When Takashi passed on that information to the others who were in the room to watch, the adults turned to stop Ryuu only to find he'd already started and interrupting the process now would have dire consequences. They watch grimly, all of them worried and frightened for the fifteen year old locked in the room with the twisted fragment of some dark individual's soul (the watcher's wouldn't have confirmation that it was Voldemort's soul until after the ritual had been completed).

Inside the room, Ryuu was struggling to pull the threads of dark magic from the diadem; they were wrapped tightly around the crown and to Ryuu's horror they were sentient in a way none of the other dark magic he'd cleansed had been. It wouldn't take more than a few minutes of pulling on the dark magic for Ryuu to recognize the feel of the tainted magic and he'd clenched his jaw stubbornly as he finally understood what the ghost had meant about his fated foe (something he'd known in his soul even if his mind had not wanted to acknowledge it at the time). As if knowing he was dealing with a spirit was a signal; his spiritual energy rose from inside of him and pulled with it magic from his core to merge with the wild magic he'd been channeling through his body.

The glow of magic and power surrounding Ryuu shifted and twisted, shaping itself into a shimmering gold and silver dragon that nearly completely blocked Ryuu from view to those watching. The dragon's claws then reached out to the diadem and dragged the entire soul fragment, along with the dark magic it had woven into the very structure of the diadem, free from the golden circlet. The blackened soul piece screamed and raged as it thrashed in the dragon's claws in an effort to escape. Inside of the spectral dragon, Ryuu stood calmly detached as he watched the struggling soul fragment, the magic swirling around and through him buffering him from the dark magic and anger of the fragment.

His thoughts were the dragon's thoughts, his emotions the dragon's emotions, and his magic and spiritual power its lifeblood; he was the heart and soul of the dragon.

A single thought filled Ryuu's mind as he stared at the fragment trapped between the glowing claws of the dragon, _The tainted magic must be separated from the soul._ The dragon snaked its head closer to the fragment in response as it moved the soul into one claw and held it firmly while its second claw dug into the heart of the fragment and grabbed hold of the fragment's magical core and slowly began drawing the core from the soul.

Unheard by those watching, the fragment of Voldemort's soul began screaming in sheer agony as the dragon literally ripped all of the magic from the small fraction of soul. As the tainted magic was pulled free from the soul fragment, Voldemort's soul faded from black to gray to pearly white and vanished from the sight of those unable to see the youkai. Seconds later, without the magic to give it shape and hold it to this plane, the soul fragment of Voldemort simply faded out of existence and the dragon was left holding a small fraction of Voldemort's magical core.

_Purgo_, Ryuu now thought as he felt the taint from the magic in the dragon's claws pulsing and straining to break free. In response to that thought, dragon fire, made from pure unfiltered wild magic laced with Ryuu's intent, washed over the pulsing core of tainted magic burning away the corruption. The new wards in the room activated and began siphoning off the excess to relieve the stressed wards as the magic in the air reached the maximum saturation point and threatened to overload the protective wards.

When the magical fire finally stopped, those standing in front of the observation window could see the golden globe of purified magic clasped firmly in the dragon's claw. Everyone held their breath as they watched the spectral dragon comprised of wild magic, Ryuu's magic, and Ryuu's spiritual power slowly collapsing in on itself until it disappeared completely; leaving Ryuu standing in the center of the room with the globe of purified magic hovering in the air above him for a full five seconds. Then to the horror of the adults, the sanitized magic dropped down and merged with Ryuu instead of dissipating as it usually did.

Hatake and Healer Inoue (who'd been asked to observe this time in case Ryuu ended up passing out like he had the previous time) rushed to the door intent on trying to stop whatever was happening. The door was sealed from the inside though, the wards locking them out because of the excessive levels of magic still saturating the air. Cursing, Hatake activated the emergency wards that would siphon all of the free magic in the room out within seconds (another safety feature Ryuu added to with the new wards). It took twenty long seconds for the wards to fully activate and clear the free magic and another ten seconds before the door unsealed itself to allow the two wizards entrance.

"Oji? Is there something wrong?" Ryuu asked tiredly as he glanced over his shoulder at the two men from where he'd crouched down to gather up the diadem.

He was a bit surprised when his uncle scooped him up off the floor while Healer Inoue immediately began scanning him. He held still in shock for almost a full minute before he began struggling to get his uncle to put him down; not that it did him any good.

"Oji! What are you doing!? Put me down!"

"Sit still and be quiet," Hatake ordered as he tightened his hold on the squirming teen. "We have to stop what ever it was that just happened."

Ryuu stilled instantly but he ignored the order to be silent, "It's already too late; the magic merged with my core the instant it touched me; same as it did when I cleansed the dark magic I pulled from Peeves. Why are you so worried this time?"

"This has happened before?" Hatake demanded as he nearly dropped Ryuu in shock. "Why the hell didn't you ever say anything!?"

"I thought you knew," Ryuu replied as he climbed down out of his uncle's now unresisting arms. "How could you not have seen what happened the last time? I never brought it up because I thought it wasn't that big of a deal because you never said anything about it last time."

"Baka," Hatake huffed. "Did it never occur to you that we didn't mention it because we didn't know? We never saw you absorb any magic previously; we'd been forced to look away due to the bright light and every other time we watched the magic slowly dissipated into the air. How many times has this happened?"

"I didn't know you didn't know and it seemed trivial and unimportant each time I thought to bring it up," Ryuu muttered as he leaned down and picked up the diadem. As his fingers curled around the magical circlet, Ryuu flinched in surprise and immediately let go as he felt a tendril of magic reach out to him from the object. "What the hell was that?"

"What the hell was what?" Hatake growled back as he frowned at Ryuu who was frowning at the innocent looking diadem.

"I don't know…" Ryuu replied as he tentatively nudged the diadem with his foot.

"It will not harm you," the Gray Lady declared as she slipped into the room through the wall. "The circlet was the secret to my mother's wisdom; created by Merlin himself when he did not wish for his knowledge to be lost to the world upon his death. I am ashamed to admit I stole the diadem from my mother in my anger when I fled Hogwarts to escape an unwanted marriage. I am further ashamed to admit that it was I who told Tom Riddle where to find the hidden diadem; thinking him honorable enough to return it to the castle. When he finally did bring it back it reeked of the foulest of dark magics and because he had my permission to return the diadem, the school was forced to let it pass through the wards."

Ryuu reached down and picked up the circlet a second time, this time allowing the tendril of magic to connect to his core. He shivered a bit as he felt his magic accept and embrace the tendril as unhesitatingly as it had absorbed the portion of Voldemort's magical core he'd cleansed. To the surprise of those that had gathered in the room with him (his father, Flitwick, the twins, Luna, and Satoshi having followed Hatake and Healer Inoue) the diadem began shifting shape after Ryuu's magic had integrated the magic of the circlet; gaining a more masculine appearance as opposed to the fragile femininity of its previous form.

"The diadem belongs to you now," the Gray Lady announced in surprise. "I had feared the knowledge and the magic bound to the diadem destroyed by the tainted magic; it eases my mind to know it was not. Only you, and those whom you allow, will be able to use the diadem now; to the rest of the world it will be nothing more than a simple diadem until you breathe your last breath."

"Why…?" Ryuu asked as he stared down at the crown in horror. "I never asked… never wanted…"

"It weighed your magic and your soul and found you acceptable," the Gray Lady replied with a shrug. "It will not bind itself to those who are too weak or too corrupt. It accepted you because you had no desire to take what it had to offer and the strength of character not to misuse the power it represents. I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you have accomplished by cleansing the taint from the diadem. You may call on me whenever you have need of me and I will help you in any way I can."

"Fascinating," Flitwick squeaked as the Gray Lady vanished through the wall a few seconds later.

"I think I need to sit down," Ryuu stated as his knees buckled.

Only Hatake's quick reflexes saved Ryuu from crashing to the floor as he scooped the teen back up into his arms once more. The sound of the circlet hitting the floor echoed through the chamber for a moment before Luna reached down to pick it up and began examining the crown. When she turned it sideways, she could see the following words etched into the inside of the circlet. Running her finger over the words, she read them out loud, "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure."

"Whoever said or wrote that never found love," Ryuu declared as he closed his eyes and limply settled into his uncle's arms. "The greatest treasure a man could ever hold is the love of a family."

"Leave the philosophical debates for another time, will you," Hatake groused as he carried Ryuu out of the Secure Chamber and headed for Ryuu's private quarters. "I'm more interested in knowing what happened while you were pulling the magic from the diadem, what caused you to absorb the magic you just purified, what exactly happened when you picked up the crown, and why you suddenly collapsed after touching the fancy scrap of metal."

"When I first started trying to pull the tainted magic from the diadem, I discovered that the magic was sentient in a way magic is not supposed to be and I recognized the feel of it from when I faced the shade down in the Chamber of Secrets in my second year," Ryuu explained, his voice soft and tired. "The next bit becomes blurry; it was like I was cut off from everything around me… as if my magic was shielding me from the dark magic. I had no control over what was happening and yet at the same time I was in complete control as whatever thought passed through my mind was carried out by magic. I wanted the tainted fragment removed from the crown, I needed the magic separated from the soul fragment, and I demanded the dark magic to be cleansed."

Ryuu paused and took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect his thoughts before he added, "It took no effort on my part; I felt nothing, only satisfaction as magic carried out my will. When there was nothing else to ask of the magic it faded away until it was just me and the small section of Voldemort's core that I had torn from his soul. I don't know why I've started absorbing the magic I cleanse; the first time it happened was the day I pulled the magic from the two first years on the afternoon that we took control of the Chamber of Secrets. There didn't seem to be any side effects so I pushed it to the back of my mind and forgot about it until the day I dealt with the poltergeist. That had been weird and it felt like the magic was crawling beneath my skin as it integrated itself into my core but there didn't seem to be any negative effects."

"I barely even felt it when that small fraction of Voldemort's core merged with mine just now. It almost felt like it had been a piece of my own core being returned to where it belonged. I know it probably doesn't make any sense but that is what it felt like to me. The diadem on the other hand… it… the best way to describe it would be to say that it bound itself to my magic; I would almost compare it to a familiar bond. Beyond that I couldn't say and I am not certain Ravenclaw's ghost could fully explain what happened because I don't think she knows more than she already revealed because the diadem never accepted her because she stole it from her mother."

"And the reason you collapsed?"

"Delayed shock and minor exhaustion from the purification, the integration of the magic, and accepting the bond with the magic in the diadem," Ryuu replied. "I imagine I'll be fine after a few hours of sleep, a hot bath, and a hearty meal."

"His estimate is correct," Healer Inoue confirmed from where he'd been pacing beside Hatake as he continued to scan Ryuu's body and core. "All I'm reading is an increased heart rate, low body temperature, and mild physical and magical exhaustion."

"What about his index reading?" Hatake asked as he stopped outside of Ryuu's quarters and turned to face the healer.

"I've not tested it since the summer after his third term here at Hogwarts," Healer Inoue confessed. "There didn't seem to be a point when there had been no changes over the course of that year; other than the presence of his patronus providing a bit of stability as it steadily draws on the wild magic that is constantly running through his blood."

"Do me a favor and check it," Hatake ordered as Luna opened the door so he could carry Ryuu inside. "Luna, could you please do me a favor and head over to the mess hall and ask the elves to send over a little something for Ryuu-kun to eat?"

Luna looked up at him with wide blue eyes before she nodded, settled the circlet on Ryuu's stomach, and skipped off down the hall. Once she was gone and it was just the adults (the twins and Satoshi having stayed to clean up the Secure Chamber so it could be used for testing new prank ideas), Healer Inoue cast the spell that would measure Ryuu's current index. The first number that appeared was a ninety-seven that slowly began advancing until it hit ninety-nine and reset itself to zero, the speed picking up until it was just a blur of rotating numbers; a familiar and expected reaction ever since what had happened with the basilisk and the phoenix in Ryuu's second year. What was unexpected was the second number that appeared directly beside the first, this one set at a solid sixty-five.

"Okay, that's never happened before… what's with that second number?" Takashi asked with a frown as he glanced between the three wizards that were staring at the numbers hovering above Ryuu.

Ryuu glanced up at the numbers and felt his magic stirring inside him as the answer to the question was supplied by the crown resting on his stomach. Frowning slightly at the strange feeling of foreign thoughts invading his mind, Ryuu hesitantly replied, "That is the combined levels of the foreign magic that merged with my core and if my index reading was normal you'd simply add that number to my index to get my actual rating."

"So… if your original index rating was… say ninety-seven, we'd actually have to add the sixty-five to that in order to know your true rating?"

"Yes… and my index would be one-sixty-two," Ryuu replied slowly as he digested the knowledge he'd just been fed by the link to the diadem. "The spell that was designed to measure a wizard's core is somewhat flawed or rather far too specific and limited as it had been created solely to measure the magical core of a newborn child in order to confirm the child in question was magical. It is still possible to use the spell to measure the core of any magical but the results for those with larger cores are never properly indexed because they limited the scope of the spell between zero and ninety-nine; since at the time, it was thought that children were never born with a magical core measuring above two digits. If they had extended the limit to say, one thousand, then you'd have a better chance of more accurately gauging a teenager's or an adult's true index level."

"What do you mean?" Flitwick asked curiously.

"Once the index reaches the maximum number of ninety-nine it automatically resets and continues counting even though you can't see that third digit. So… using the example from earlier; if my index was one-sixty-two after adding the levels that my core absorbed to my original index of ninety-seven it would only ever register as sixty-two because numbers above ninety-nine don't exist as far as the spell is concerned."

"Then why doesn't the spell give you a single number? According to what you just explain, the spell should assign a number and leave it; even if it is inaccurate," Flitwick pointed out.

"It never stops because the spell hasn't actually run its full course," Ryuu answered after the diadem once more supplied him with the information. "It is still trying to measure my index. It will never be able to finish though because once it has measured my core it always moves on to measure the amount of wild magic flowing through me due to my status as a living focus thanks to the basilisk venom, phoenix tears, and oak slivers still flowing through my blood; the magic drawn by the three substances actually prevents them from being broken down over time as one would normally expect to happen."

"So… is ninety-seven your actual core index then? Since that is the number it always starts on before it starts scrolling," Hatake surmised as he dumped Ryuu on the couch.

"Why didn't it automatically count the magic you absorbed as part of your core?" Healer Inoue asked at the same time as he frowned at the two numbers still floating above Ryuu's head.

"It measures the magic I absorbed separately because even though it merged with my core it carries a residue of the various magical signatures from the individuals that cast the original spells whereas the wild magic flowing through me actually takes on my magical signature because it flows through my blood. As to the actual level of my core index, it is impossible to determine what it actually is because there is no way to tell if it is ninety-seven, one hundred ninety-seven, or even ten thousand ninety-seven due to the limitations of the spell," Ryuu replied with a shrug as he curled up in the corner of the couch. "Personally, I don't see the need to measure indexes except maybe at birth in order to see if a baby is magical or not and even then who cares? So long as the baby is alive and healthy what more could a parent ask for?"

"If only everyone could see it that way," Flitwick sadly agreed.

Luna returned at that moment followed by a small army of elves that were each carrying two and three platters of food. Ryuu then spent the next half hour cuddled up on the couch with Luna perched on his lap as she fed him samples from each of the various platters. They were joined halfway through the meal by his mother and Kenji, the twins, Satoshi, Kimi, and several other students that Ryuu had gotten to know since the start of their protest turned war. Kenji, who was just learning to walk, toddled over to where Ryuu and Luna were sitting the moment Taki set him down on the floor and the near one year old then cutely begged for Ryuu to pick him up.

Always happy to indulge his brother, Ryuu wrapped one arm around Luna (so she wouldn't fall) before he leaned over and lifted his brother up onto the couch where the little tyke promptly curled up against Ryuu's side. The rest of the afternoon passed by quickly as the group discussed the on-going renovations in the Chamber of Secrets, their next target, the current state of the school, their plans for removing the dementors from the castle, and the looming winter holidays.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Nani – what<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I had something I really wanted to say but by the time I went to write it my mind blanked out. Anyway, I apologize for the delay in posting this as I had other things on my mind and got a bit distracted in real life as I needed to wrap up another bit of unpleasantness. The next chapter, which wraps up the stuff with Umbridge, should be up fairly soon; I just need to clean up a few points before I upload it. I'd also like to thank all of my reviewers; your words and thoughts are greatly appreciated and while I haven't really had time to answer any reviews lately I have tried to always make time to read them. Hopefully I will have more time to spend here soon but I can't make any promises as real life is cutting into my play time. ~ Jenn_


	42. Complete and Total Surrender

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

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><p><span>Chapter 41: Nothing Less Than Complete and Total Surrender<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>December 1995 – January 1996<em>

Ryuu stood in front of the three dimensional map of the castle and watched as a tiny army of silvery patronuses rounded up the two hundred some dementors that Umbridge had allowed to be bred in the castle. The silvery creatures were herding the foul creatures into one of the dungeons that Ryuu and the twins had turned into a Secure Chamber with special extra features and wards designed to effectively contain the dementors until Ryuu striped them of their magic.

Quite on accident he'd discovered that the dementors weren't actually creatures at all; they were pure dark magic that had gained sentience through the souls and memories that they stole from witches and wizards. He'd been unable to dredge up enough rage to create the patronus capable of destroying the demons so he'd captured one and pulled the dark magic from the creature only to be shocked at what he'd found once he'd striped the magic from the dementor. As he'd pulled the dark magic from the creature, ghostly souls began appearing until he was left with a huge sphere of dark magic, a lifeless cloak, and twenty shimmering ghosts.

Once he'd purified the dark magic, the spirits in the chamber with him smiled and thanked him before all but one of them had passed on to the afterlife. That final spirit was the one that had explained exactly how the dementors had been created, why they'd been created, and how they'd become corrupted over time. He also revealed that a dementor reproduced by splitting pieces of its cloak off and passing along one or more of the souls it had stolen to each of the pieces it had torn off.

Ryuu had been sickened by the thought of how close his uncle had come to being the power that fueled the birth of yet another dementor two years earlier. He'd decided then and there that he wasn't going to allow a single dementor to remain alive if he could help it and had spent quite a bit of time teaching all of his troops how to cast the patronus with the help of the adults that knew how. Not everyone had been able to produce a corporeal patronus but after two weeks of practice there had been enough of them who could that they began making plans to round up the dementors.

Building the holding cell for the dementors had taken an additional week because not only did it have to keep the dementors inside and everyone else outside, it had to be hidden from Umbridge and her toadies and allow for the dementors to be removed one at a time so they could be cleansed. That hadn't stopped Ryuu from capturing the odd stray dementor and purifying it while they were preparing for the final attack. He'd managed to destroy eight of them over the course of those four weeks.

The cloaks of the foul creatures were then tacked to the walls of the Great Hall during the middle of the night by the house elves. Umbridge still hadn't been able to figure out a way to remove the cloaks and each time a new one joined the ranks she'd start shrieking and screaming at the staff on her side to do something about it. Kind of amusing to watch since the woman's face turned a putrid red-green when she was angry but that might be more because the twins had spiked her soap and shampoo with semi-permanent green die in order to give her the proper complexion for a toad.

"There are three more on the seventh between the Lion's home base and the bust of Marvin the Magnificent," Ryuu announced over the communication system the twins had invented based upon the Marauders' charmed mirrors and their Extendable Ears. "There is another one in the Astronomy tower and six more near the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room."

"Roger that, Major," Cedric's voice called back in reply before he split up the group of students he was leading in order to deal with the strays. "Flying Squads Three and Six take Ground Squad Two and Four with you up to the seventh floor to collect the four dementors up there and Flying Squads One, Three, and Five take Ground Squads Five, Six, and Eight to fetch the ones in the dungeon."

"To the teams moving in the dungeons, be on watch for Snivellus, he's pacing in his quarters again," Ryuu warned as he glanced at the map again. "Elf Squad Four has him pinned in his rooms but there's no guarantee that he doesn't have a secret entrance we've missed."

"Got it, boss," Lee Jordan barked out in reply.

"Good luck, folks," Ryuu sent out before he clicked off his communicator and wearily ran a hand over his face.

"Tired?" Sirius asked as he passed the fifteen year old a bottle of butterbeer.

"Yeah, just a bit," Ryuu agreed as he sipped at the drink in his hand; his eyes once again scanning all eight levels of the castle for any stray dementors. "It took me longer to finish putting those wards in last night than I originally anticipated. I just hope they can hold all of the dementors in the room until I can deal with them. You think Umbridge will pull more from Azkaban once she realizes that all of her dementors are missing?"

"She might… depends on if the Minister is willing to allow her to take more once he realizes the ones she's already taken have been destroyed," Sirius replied after considering the question for a moment. "What I don't understand is why they let her have them in the first place."

"I don't think the Minister even knows she brought them in," Ryuu offered as he leaned closer to the map and watched the six teams in the dungeon rounding up the dementors he'd found hiding down there. "Minister Ogden struck me as a smart fellow and not a weakling like Fudge. He's either completely out of the loop about what is going on here, has been really good at hiding his corrupt nature, stopped caring, or he's being controlled somehow. Those are the only explanations that I can come up with given with how much he seems to have changed since he first took office."

"You're not the only one who's noticed and started questioning his apparent change of heart," Sirius replied soberly. "We may just be adults and not borderline geniuses but we aren't exactly brain dead."

"I never thought you were," Ryuu replied without looking away from the map. "Well… I might have been guilty of thinking that you were flea-brained but never stupid."

"Insolent brat… I'll give you flea-brained," Sirius growled in mock anger. "Just you wait, Padfoot will have Bandit treed like the rodent he is in no time!"

"As I recall, the last time you tried to tree Bandit, you ended up wearing a saddle and bridle while Bandit got to be a rodeo cowboy for two hours," Ryuu tossed back as he shot a smirk at his godfather before returning his gaze to the map where four black dots were now being ushered down the main stairs by dozens of silvery animals.

"I'll have you know I did that on purpose," Sirius insisted even as he blushed over the reminder of the incident in question.

"Uh-huh," Ryuu countered with a knowing smirk still on his face. "Sure you did, Padfoot-chan, sure you did."

"No respect… I tell you, kids these days have no respect for adults," Sirius pretend sobbed while Ryuu just snickered and searched the map for any other dementors he might have missed.

Shaking his head at the pout Sirius had on his face, Ryuu turned his communicator back on as the last four dementors were secured in the large hidden cell, "That's a wrap folks… it appears we've got them all. There may still be a few stragglers out in the Forbidden Forest though so make certain you keep on your toes while moving around over the next couple of days. No one travels alone until the last dementor has been destroyed."

"Roger that, Major," several voices called out along with several more reporting back with a few cheeky, "Read you loud and clear, boss man," thrown out as well.

"Bring'em on home, guys, and may the pink toad scream herself hoarse before the night is over," Ryuu replied with a laugh as he gave the password phrase to tell the troops to plant what pranks they desired before they returned.

"You enjoy tormenting her don't you?" Hatake asked as he took Ryuu's place at the map to monitor their troops scattering through the castle in groups of three and four to set up the various pranks they had planned.

"Every last second," Ryuu unashamedly admitted. "You know… I almost feel sorry for her. Maybe I should have the elves provide her with a special treat. Hey, Neville, toads loves fresh bugs, don't they?"

"Trevor's never refused a cricket or nice fat and juicy worm," Neville replied with a huge grin. "The fresher the better."

"Brilliant! Dobby!" Ryuu called out and he didn't have to wait very long before the elf popped quietly into the room. "Dobby, it has been brought to my attention that we've been too cruel on Umbridge. I insist that the elves fix her a special breakfast every morning for the next week."

"What kind of special breakfast does Master Ryuu-sama have in mind," Dobby asked as he gazed up with his large green eyes.

"Well, Neville here has informed me that toads are especially fond of live crickets, worms, and other creepy crawly things so I thought we should make certain she has two or three huge bowls of them delivered right to her seat the moment she sits down for breakfast every morning. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all."

"Dobby will see to it that the toady woman has a proper toady diet to start her day, Master Ryuu-sama," Dobby promised before he popped away to start the latest torment Umbridge plot.

"I hope she appreciates the lengths we go through to treat her in a manner she deserves," Ryuu sighed with feigned sincerity.

"You know, I think we've turned him into a menace," Sirius commented thoughtfully as he wiped away a tear. "I'm so proud… my godson is all grown up and pranking like a professional."

"He even has minions to carry out his wishes," Remus added wistfully as he walked up and patted Sirius on the back as the two of them stared at Ryuu with stars in their eyes. "Fifteen years old and he has minions, Padfoot! Minions! We didn't have any minions until we were seventeen and even then we had to pay them."

"Not minions, troops," Ryuu corrected with a roll of his eyes. "I swear… sometimes the only difference between you two and Kenji is the fact that he wears diapers. Well, that and he's cute."

"You know… I think he just implied that we were immature, Padfoot," Remus drawled with mock thoughtfulness.

"That's a given, Moony," Sirius replied with a sniffle. "I was more hurt over the fact that he implied we weren't cute."

"Not my fault you're both old and gray," Ryuu declared just before he bolted from the room.

"Did he just…?"

"Yes… yes he did!"

"You know, Takashi, I'm so glad I'm not the only one that has to put up with Ryuu-kun's old age jabs," Hatake announced as Sirius and Remus took off after Ryuu while swearing retribution on the fifteen year old.

"I have to admit it's amusing to watch the three of you get all riled up over his teasing you all about your ages," Takashi admitted with a laugh of his own. "It is a relief to see he can still have fun and laugh in spite of everything that has happened since the start of his fourth year."

"I never get tired of hearing him laugh," Hatake agreed softly and Takashi simply nodded as he too loved hearing the teen laugh after many years of near absolute silence from his son.

Two days after the winter holidays, Ryuu was putting the finishing touches on the ward scheme for his new improved Mapping Ward. He'd picked Moody's brain for every last bit of information the man knew about his eye, convinced Moody to get in touch with the man that created the magical eye for more information (along with a two thousand galleon bribe to help the man divulge his secrets and sources), and then picked the brains of the two Marauders a second time over the creation of the Hogwarts and Ministry maps.

From there Ryuu had consulted Rowena's diadem, not for an easy solution because Ryuu felt that would be cheating, but for obscure and long forgotten spells that could be applied to the ward stones. Once he'd finished researching everything he'd need for the new map, he'd locked himself in his rooms for three days straight in order to cobble together the new schematics without worrying about interruptions and distractions every five minutes. He'd left Satoshi in charge of the army with orders to monitor the enemy but do absolutely nothing (not even a simple prank) during that time. When asked why, Ryuu gave them a single word in reply before he vanished; paranoia.

The new mapping system involved five to ten portable ward stones that would be dropped within a mile of the target (one aligned in each of the cardinal directions forming a square or rectangle around the target, one or two along the longest edges between the corner stones depending on the size of the target, and one directly in the center of the resulting square or two if the shape of the target required a rectangular field with the middle stones centered and evenly spaced from each other and from the corner stones).

Each ward stone was capable of functioning on its own to create a map but when used in conjunction with at least four others the details were far more accurate and complete. Each stone could survey an area of up to ten miles in all directions (spherically instead of laterally like the current system used) which meant that any hidden underground bolt holes or storage rooms could be easily spotted. The excessive range of the wards was to allow the image projections to overlap so that there were no blind spots on the resulting map.

Layered into the wards were; survey schemes meant to assay property that took stock of the target's terrain, x-ray schemes that would scan and record the internal layout of the target, and recording schemes that saved the scans and projected them onto the new improved Map Table. To monitor the bodies (human and non) inside and around the immediate area of the target there were infrared schemes that recorded body heat signatures, night vision schemes that allowed for clearer imaging in darkened rooms (day or night), identification schemes that registered magical signatures (and distinguished creature signatures from human or sentient signatures), and stealth schemes that infiltrated the target's wards to 'download' information about the wards and anyone inside of the wards.

Finally they had a combination of collection and storage schemes that drew ambient magic to power the wards so that they would never fail due to losing power over a period of time. There were a dozen other charms, spells, and wards placed on the ward stones as well in order to enhance and protect the wards from nature, tampering, and magical interference.

The Map Table got just as many upgrades as the actual data collecting ward stones. First, Ryuu swapped out the square table he'd been using and brought in a large oval table. Next he added the receiver wards that would link the table to the ward stones, embedding the table with multiple receivers so that one table could be used for multiple targets instead of just a single target. After that he put in the control wards that would allow him to focus on the entire target or just a portion of the target and a new scheme that would allow him to zoom in closer so he could actually see the faces of the people in the projection instead of just the colored dots like he could before.

There was also a series of 'storage' tablets attached to the underside of the table that would record all information the ward stones gathered about the magical signatures they came in contact with so that the Map Table would always recognize that signature no matter which map it turned up on (even if there were no wards to tap into to steal that information on the map in question). Lastly, he installed the same collection and storage from the ward stones to power the table from ambient magic, his Dragon Ward and Elemental Ward to protect the table, and a Command Ward that would prevent just anyone from walking in and using the map.

The day he finished the first working model (complete with three sets of ward stones) Ryuu cleared out the old Map Table (giving it to McGonagall since it was useful and keyed specifically to the school) and installed the new table. The student leaders of his quasi army were curious as to what he was doing (only his advisers had known what he was working on while he was locked up in his rooms) and stood silently watching as Ryuu fiddled with the table for ten full minutes before he looked up and grinned rakishly.

A tap of his wand to the control rune on the table then had a detailed map of Hogsmeade (including the train station) shimmering into existence and looking far more lifelike and realistic than the old Hogwarts map had appeared. Another tap and the Forbidden Forest replaced Hogsmeade in great detail along with Hagrid's cabin and the Quidditch Pitch. A final tap had Hogwarts on the table along with an extensive view of the school grounds around the castle (right up to the edge of the forest) and the entire Black Lake (including the lake bed).

"How did you find the time to carve the wards to Hogsmeade let alone the entire Forbidden Forest?" Cedric asked in shock as he looked up from the map to see a smirking Ryuu gazing at the table with pride. "And what fool did you convince to carve the runes under the water?"

"There was actually very little carving involved," Ryuu replied. "What you are looking at is the new and improved Mapping System Wards. There is no carving required outside the creation of the initial ward stones; all you have to do is surround the targeted location with four to eight stones to form a square (or rectangle if the target is large enough) and depending on the size and layout of the target one or two stones centered evenly in the interior. It takes approximately thirty minutes for the new wards to scan and create the projection and five minutes for the table to 'upload' the new map. This table can also hold up to twenty different maps."

Several whistles and murmurs of appreciation rang out; the loudest coming from those that had helped Ryuu carve the thousands of runes that had been needed for the first map. Ryuu grinned at his fellow carvers; his hands well remembered those long nights of carving. He then spent the next half hour demonstrating the new features of the improved map before keying in his advisors and a handful of the students that helped him coordinate the various attacks.

The new Mapping System would be patented through the Japanese Magistrate within five hours of that meeting and two hours after that he'd had his first two contracts to supply both the Japanese Magical Police Force and the Japanese Magical Samurai Force with a total of twenty tables each (complete with twenty sets of ward stones for each table). That brought the number of patents he now owned up to thirty-six (fifteen of them just on the individual schemes for the Mapping System).

Within a week of obtaining his new patent, Ryuu would have an additional twelve contracts asking for varying numbers of Map Tables (including one for the Romanian Dragon Reserve and one for the Japanese Academy); most of them from security companies or foreign law enforcement agencies. That wasn't counting the other contracts that still flowed in for his Dragon Wards, Elemental Wards, and other ward schemes. Ryuu had actually needed to hire a small force of competent rune carvers to fill the constant inflow of orders from various creature reserves and research centers around the world.

Each of the carvers had sworn oaths not to teach others the schemes for the wards, to not sell or give away the wards to non-contracted buyers, and to never use the wards for criminal activities. The purchasers were under similar oaths, though theirs were simply an oath to never attempt to replicate his wards, never resell their purchases to anyone other than Ryuu, to never give away the wards to another person, and to never use them for criminal activities. This was Ryuu's insurance that his wards would not fall into the hands of criminals or worse; Death Eaters. It wasn't a perfect system but at least this way it would take longer for criminal elements to get their hands on his wards.

While that was going on, Umbridge and those on her side had become gibbering messes that jumped at every little sound and any time they caught a shadow moving out of the corner of their eye. Ryuu's cease fire had them all completely and utterly paranoid and frightened of what Ryuu was planning (Ryuu had extended the cease fire out an additional three days when he saw how well it was working).

By the time Ryuu was ready to take up arms again, Snape was drinking so much there was rarely a time when he wasn't drunk (even on the nights when he was called to the Dark Lord's side), Umbridge had dark circles under her eyes and her wand was constantly out with a spell ready on the tip of her tongue (she'd cursed more than one of her own troops because of her jumpiness), and the students (regardless of age) were traveling in packs of fifteen or more and looked even worse than Umbridge because they now feared getting hit from both sides. Moody loved every minute of the psychological warfare and even helped by dragging a set of bloodied chains with him every where he went while his magical eye crazily spun in his head every second.

The day he resumed attacks, Ryuu had the elves string up about twenty more dementor cloaks in the Great Hall (attaching them to the rafters above the tables since the walls were mostly full now), Peeves resumed planting various bombs around the castle (including the mostly invisible Thestral Dung Bombs, Mini-Swamp Bombs, and Squishy-Shoe bombs; this last one made the shoes of those who stepped on them wet and muddy for two hours at a time), and the ghosts had started following the students on Umbridge's side as they loudly speculated on which student would be the next one to disappear without a trace. With Snape out of commission (because drunks are ineffectual and incompetent at best and paranoid drunks were absolutely useless) the pixies and doxies finally returned to wreck havoc in various classrooms while the garden gnomes had permanently moved into the potions supply cupboard and the main kitchen.

In the mean time, Ryuu was planning the end of the war; with the year now half over it was time to end things on his terms so that the students could get back to proper classes in time for the end of year exams. This was especially important for the fifth and seventh years who had O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s to take respectively (though Ryuu would be taking a small handful of N.E.W.T.s along with his O.W.L.s because there was no point in waiting another two years when he could take them now and not have to worry about those classes any more).

Part of his plan involved the newly perfected Treacle Toad Treats, a Hair Removing potion, Wart Wafers, Color Crackers (crackers that changed the color of one's skin), and Raspberry Ribbit Ripples. He also planned to bring in plenty of independent and neutral parties to witness Umbridge's surrender (and he was mostly confident that she would surrender by the time he was finished with her). Those on the list of people included various authority figures from multiple countries (including England, France, Romania, Bulgaria, Japan, and the United States), law enforcement officers from those same countries, reporters from all around the world, Sander Bongledash, the Hogwarts Board of Governors, and several prominent political figures from the English Ministry.

Ryuu chose to end the war on January thirty-first at exactly five o'clock in the evening; allowing him enough time to finish purging the dark magic from the dementors and as well as get everything ready. Formal invitations were set to be sent out two weeks before the scheduled final battle in order to make certain every one could attend (no one was aware of exactly what it was they were attending just that they were invited to arrive at six for a special feast).

He'd also created a larger version of his projection pensive (one that was approximately three feet in diameter) that could easily hold every single memory of every single piece of dark magic that Umbridge and the adults on her side used upon the children over the last three months (most of them revolving around blood quill detentions though there were also cases of dark hexes being cast). The last thing he'd done was have Ashikaga Daisuke and Sander Bongledash help him write out the terms of surrender that he'd be offering to Umbridge (with separate terms for the staff and a few of the Ministry employees that had helped her).

On the morning of the thirty-first, Ryuu was up at the crack of dawn and filled with nervous anticipation. He took special care getting ready, putting on his silk samurai uniform for the first time since he'd given his declaration (having worn a simple cotton one during most of their raids like the rest of the student protestors) and spending several minute cleaning and polishing his weapons. His familiars were also given baths so that they would look their best during the day's scheduled events. Shinjin was looking particularly good as her plumage had finally finished growing in now that she'd reached physical maturity after her premature burning; the young phoenix looking even more magnificent than she had before her burning.

The rest of his morning and most of the afternoon was spent going over last minute details with his captains, spending time with his family, and insuring that everything was set to go. At four-fifteen, Ryuu began buckling his armor into place with Luna helping him (as well as stealing teasing little kisses every few minutes). He then slipped his weapons into place and gathered up all of the documents he would need for the coming evening. The last thing he did before heading down to the Command Center to see that things went off as planned was to thoroughly ravish Luna with several passionate kisses; leaving her grinning dreamily and weak in the knees (she'd be watching over Kenji with his mother during the coming events).

He arrived in the former dojo to find the others ready and waiting; each one of them looking forward to ending the three month almost-war (a war that could have been prevented if Umbridge had simply backed off and left Ryuu in peace.)

"This is it, ladies and gentlemen, tonight we end things on our terms," Ryuu stated without preamble as he stepped up to the Map Table and brought up the image of the Great Hall. "As much fun as it has been tormenting Umbridge these past three months it is time for us to move on with our lives instead of wasting it on a witch who is beneath our notice. I am also not willing to allow her to escalate things a second time since I would not put it passed her to begin using Unforgivables next in order to 'end our threat' to her reign as Headmistress. I have faith that everything will go as planned tonight as I have faith in all of you and all of those who have helped us these past three months. I do not expect to run into any resistance from our opponents once we start but please do not take any unnecessary risks out there folks. You have twenty-five minutes to get your squads into position before the elves serve the first course. Good luck, everyone."

The moment the room was vacated of everyone but the command staff (Hatake, Kimura, Mori, Ashikaga, Flitwick, McGonagall, Sprout, Takashi, Satoshi, Healer Inoue, and Dobby); Ryuu began pacing back and forth as he watched both the map and the time. He would have much rather preferred being out there with the rest of the troops but he'd been talked out of by his advisors (much as he'd been talked out of taking part in over seventy percent of earlier raids). Five minutes before five, Ryuu centered himself as he began snapping out orders over the comm. system as the squads settled into position; his earlier nervous tension gone now that it was time to begin.

At exactly five o'clock those students and the few faculty members on Umbridge's side trooped into the Great Hall right on time (Umbridge demanding each and every one of them sit down to each meal at a certain time in order to watch over them and control them). Ryuu allowed a slow predatory grin to slide across his face as he gave Dobby the signal to tell the elves to serve the first course. Clasping his hands behind his back, Ryuu leaned over the map of the Great Hall as he watched several dishes magically appear on the tables. Within ten minutes, the students all began shrinking and morphing into croaking toads as the Toad Treats and Ribbit Ripples mixed into the food began taking affect. At the same time up at the staff table, all of the staff (minus Moody and Burbage) began turning a mottle green in color as their hair fell out and they grew warts.

"Ground Squads One through Five move out," Ryuu ordered around a barely suppressed laugh. "Flying Squads One through Three are to provide areal support. Dobby, have Elf Squad Four move in and pin up the rest of the dementor cloaks."

On cue, the eight squads burst into the Great Hall from the three separate entrances; two ground squads and one flying squad taking care of securing the staff while the rest of the squads dealt with rounding up the student toadies who were being placed in into warded glass tanks (the transformations were currently reversible only by a special fly-treat). The elves appeared seconds later loaded down with over a hundred dementor cloaks and Ryuu snickered softly as he watched Umbridge's eyes bulge out as she finally realized the elves had been on Ryuu's side since day one.

"Ground Squads Six through Nine move in and start prepping the stage, Flying Squads Four through Six are to head out and watch the gates for our guests. Elf Squads One through Three are to clear out the tainted food while the remaining elves begin prepping the true feast. Flying Squads Seven through Nine join Squads One through Three in sweeping the halls, classrooms, library, common rooms, and dorms to make certain there are no stragglers. Elf Squad Five is to check bathrooms castle wide. Let's keep this on schedule folks; our witnesses will begin arriving in thirty-eight minutes."

Ryuu turned off the main comm. unit and tossed it over to Mori-sensei who'd already agreed to monitor the Command Center along with his father and Dobby so that there'd be no surprises while the rest of the command unit was in the Great Hall dictating the terms of surrender. Ryuu then grabbed one of the standard receivers and set it in his ear before he took one last look at the map of the Great Hall, where his troops were shifting the house tables so they sat near three of the four walls leaving the very center of the room open enough for his planned presentation of memories.

The fourth house table was split into two sections and placed on either end of the staff table and would be where all of squad leaders would be seated (the command staff intending on using the staff table) while their guests would be seated around the outer edges of the other three tables and the rest of the students on his side would be stationed around the perimeter of the room to make certain no one tried any funny business during the night's events.

Nodding to his father, Mori, Ashikaga, Satoshi, and Remus (the latter three in charge of escorting the foreign dignitaries from Japan that would be coming by way of portal), Ryuu whistled for his familiars before sweeping out of the room along with the rest of the command staff. Ten minutes later, Ryuu entered the Great Hall much as he had almost exactly three months earlier. Umbridge's eyes bulged out when she saw him (the first time she'd actually laid eyes on him in months) and Ryuu had to fight to keep the smirk from his face as he walked by her bound and gagged form without so much as glancing in her direction. He nodded to the various students that saluted him and reminded them to make certain the protective wards were put into place to prevent any one from attacking their prisoners, destroying their evidence, or harming any of the high profile visitors that would be arriving in less than fifteen minutes.

The tanks containing the transformed students were lined up right in front of the staff table, each toad in a separate tank so it wouldn't fight or try to eat its fellow students. Five feet in front of the tanks, the adults that had joined Umbridge were all kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs, gags secured in their mouths, and a black cloth bag over their heads. Umbridge was trussed up like a hog just a few feet in front of them, the only prisoner (aside from the toadies) that was not blindfolded; Ryuu wanted her to see the destruction of everything she'd worked for.

In the center of the main floor sat the huge pensieve that Ryuu had created and he spent a minute supervising the memories being added before he glanced up and noted that the rafters and top edges of all four walls were nearly solid black with the number of dementor cloaks attached to them. The charmed ceiling that mimicked the sky outside, famous world wide, was hidden beneath the sheer number of tattered cloaks (by the time he'd finished purifying the last dementor he'd destroyed over three hundred dementors and released close to five hundred souls).

"_Our guests from Japan, China, and Tibet have arrived through the portal and are heading your way, ETA is eight minutes,_" Mori-sensei murmured into his ear courtesy of the comm. unit. "_We also have dignitaries arriving in Hogsmeade via magical transportation._"

"Understood, Mori-sensei," Ryuu murmured in response as he took up position just a few feet away from Umbridge and stood tall with his hands clasped behind his back; Tenji sitting imperiously at his feet, Shinjin majestically perched on his right shoulder, and the ghostly Shogun patronus perched on his left. Behind and slightly to the right of him, Neville stood holding his standard and shield, to his left stood Hatake watching over Umbridge, while the rest of the command staff and the squad leaders present moved to stand behind their chairs at the extended staff table and the rest of the students moved into their assigned potions around the room. Ryuu glanced around for a moment before he ordered, "Ground Squads Two and Four, please head out to the gate to help escort in our guests into the Castle."

Two minutes after that command, Ryuu nodded respectfully to Yamamoto-shishou, the Japanese Magistrate, the Chinese Minister of Magic, the Headmasters of China's three magical schools, and the Dalai Lama of Tibet's magical school (who was also the figure head of their government). The group was then shown to their assigned seating on Ryuu's right where they settled down and unabashedly stared first at the huge bowl sitting in the center of the room and then at the lines of prisoners and toads.

The next groups to arrive were the heads of the European schools and governments (coming from Germany, Romania, Bulgaria, France, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Austria, and Russia – Ashikaga having talked Ryuu into inviting far more individuals than he originally planned to include) and the first contingent of reporters. The various representatives from those countries were shuffled over to the table to Ryuu's left while the reporters sat at the table directly in front of Ryuu. Behind each of the various heads, joining the students stationed against the walls, were various bodyguards, aurors, warriors, and other protective guards.

The representatives from all three Americas, the Caribbean, Australia, Africa, India, New Zealand, and a handful of other small island countries arrived next and were split up evenly between the tables on Ryuu's left and right while the last of the reporters for various publications and radio stations world wide joined their colleagues in front of Ryuu. The walls were practically bristling with weapons from the number of guards stationed there and the tension was slowly escalating as glares of confusion, curiosity, and in some cases hostility were exchanged by the various dignitaries from around the world. Ryuu had carefully planned the seating though (with the help of Yamamoto and Ashikaga) and so long as nothing happened the peace would hold for the duration of the evening.

The very last guests to arrive were the English Minister of Magic, the English Ministry's law enforcement, Albus Dumbledore, and the Hogwarts' board of Governors (all of whom were seated directly in the center of the table filled with reporters). Ryuu had intentionally seated them in the middle of the sharks, where they could be seen by everyone else, and where they'd undoubtedly realize they'd just been singled out. Ryuu didn't acknowledge any of them (like he had everyone else); a fact that was quickly noted by the visiting dignitaries and the reporters. Ryuu then slowly reached into his hidden pocket (taking great care not to appear in any way threatening) and pulled out his ocarina.

He knew this was one part of his plans that could either make or break the entire meeting but he'd decided that a little showing off was in order and if it worked properly then it would also put all of his guests at ease (except the British contingent). Bringing the clay flute up to his mouth, Ryuu opened himself to his magic and summoned the phoenixes much as he did the day he'd bonded Shinjin. This time he intentionally didn't limit the number or types of phoenixes he called; wanting and needing hundreds of them. He asked them politely to answer his call, remain to watch over the night's proceedings, protect his guests, and help him judge the souls of his prisoners through his magic. Wondrous murmurs broke out as the phoenixes began flashing into the room in groups of five, ten and twenty; their plumage as assorted as their elemental affinities.

By the time Ryuu lowered his flute and tucked it back into his pocket there were close to five hundred phoenixes perched around the entire hall; at least one sitting with each person except the prisoners and the British representatives; something that was also noted. Although, Dumbledore's phoenix familiar did appear a moment later to settle on his bonded's shoulder even if Fawkes's arrival was no where near as flashy or as notable as the arrive of the other phoenixes. The level of tension in the room was cut in half by that single demonstration as it not only reaffirmed Ryuu's status as a powerful wizard it proved to them that he was not harboring any ill-will towards anyone one outside of the British Magical government. The slight proud smiles on certain familiar faces (most notably on those of Yamamoto and Ashikaga) let Ryuu know they thought the move masterfully played.

"Greetings, gentle witches and wizards," Hatake intoned as he stepped forward and drew everyone's attention away from Ryuu and the newly arrived phoenixes. "I would like to thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules and lives to accept the invitations sent to you for tonight's event. I am going to ask everyone to keep their wands and other foci out of their hands for the duration of the proceedings. This room has been heavily warded to protect each of you, our prisoners, the evidence we will be presenting, and the school itself and any attempt to attack any of your fellow guests, our host, or the evidence will be subdued with necessary force. That said, please allow me to introduce you to your host for the evening, Leader of the Student Protest Movement and current controller of Hogwarts; Special Major Natsume Ryuu."

"Arigatou, Hatake Kakashi-shishou," Ryuu murmured politely, acknowledging his position as one of Ryuu's advisors and teachers; something that was noted by most of the visiting dignitaries and the reporters. He then reached up and pulled off his helmet and passed it to Neville who was acting as his standard bearer for the proceedings. "I bid you welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, current command center for the joint Student Protest Movement of Hogwarts and Japan's Academy of Sorcery. As of five-fifteen this evening the Student Protestors took control of the school from the usurper; Delores Umbridge, a representative of England's Ministry of Magic, former self appointed (and spurious) Headmistress, and supposed professor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class."

Ryuu paused and took a deep breath as he let his gaze touch upon the faces watching him intently, steadying his nerves and centering his emotions before he plunged back into the rest of the speech Yamamoto had helped him write. "I invited each and every one of you here this evening for three reasons; to stand witness to the complete and total surrender of Delores Umbridge, to stand as Judge and Jury to the crimes that were committed by Delores Umbridge against the innocent students of Hogwarts, and to humbly request your help in dealing with a far greater problem looming on the horizon of our world."

Ryuu snapped his fingers and the house elves sent up the assorted appetizers that had been prepared (dishes that included a variety of selections from around the world). He then added, "Before we start with tonight's business please allow me to present you with the promised feast. The phoenixes have readily agreed to act as taste testers for those of you who are a little weary of eating or drinking at a strange table; neither I nor the Hogwarts house elves will take offense as that was one of the reasons I summoned the phoenixes to attend tonight's event."

Ryuu bowed low to the room before lifting his hand up into the air and many eyebrows jumped in shock and amusement as a shadow phoenix swooped down from the rafters and flashed Ryuu to his seat at the center of the staff table (taking the Headmaster's golden throne). It was another reminder that Ryuu could command not only his own familiars but the wild phoenixes as well. The moment Ryuu took his seat the rest of his advisors and student leaders sat down as well, with Hatake and Neville each walking around the table from opposite sides until they were standing right behind his chair (a visible reminder that the other students considered Ryuu just as important as the various leaders and school heads that were attending the feast). Tenji simply slipped beneath the table and jumped up into Ryuu's lap once he was seated and began purring in contentment.

The feast lasted for approximately an hour and consisted of five courses (appetizers, soup and salad, a meat and vegetable course, a seafood course, and dessert). Each course offering a wide assortment of selections that catered to the palates of all of the visitors and accounted for regional and religious dietary needs and desires (a calculated move to show that Ryuu understood that everyone had their own preferences and that he respected those preferences). Ryuu and those up at the staff table with him did not employ the services of the phoenixes as they served themselves and began eating without hesitation (after a brief offer of gratitude).

Once he'd taken a couple of bites, Ryuu also shared his meal with both of his familiars and the three wild phoenixes that had gathered around him. He noted that only a small handful of the guests actually bothered to offer the first bite of each dish to the phoenix seated at his or her shoulder while the rest offered Ryuu a measure of trust and respect as they too ate without fear or worry. (Something that gave Ryuu an idea of which countries might stand beside him during the looming problem that was Voldemort.)

Once the final dish of dessert faded from the table, Ryuu climbed to his feet and once more lifted his hand in the air as a light phoenix swooped down and returned him to the center of the room. This time he was alone but for Shinjin sitting on his shoulder, Tenji and his patronus having remained behind on the Headmaster's chair. For the first time since entering the hall, Ryuu directly glanced at Umbridge (who was foaming through her gag and so very obviously cursing at him through the silencing charm someone had thoughtfully applied to her). He then turned his back on her to address his guests as he pulled out his acceptance of Umbridge's declaration of war that he'd presented on November first.

"I do hope everyone enjoyed the feast," Ryuu began as everyone once again turned their attention to him. "I will now move onto the first order of business for which I invited everyone here tonight; to witness the surrender of Delores Umbridge and try her for her crimes against the student body."

Ryuu pulled out his wand and tapped it to the scroll he held in his hand and three copies suddenly appeared on the table in front of each and every guest. Ryuu then put both wand and scroll away before addressing those gathered once more, "The scrolls that just appeared in front of you each contain a copy of my original acceptance of Delores Umbridge's Declaration of War against the Natsume Family, a translated copy of the declaration in English, and finally a translation of the declaration in your native language. I have provided these copies to you because I wanted there to be no misunderstandings as to why I am standing here before you today."

"The next documents I will be providing you with are a copy of my birth certificate, my adoption certificate, my Japanese visa and citizenship papers, my applications and acceptance letters for Hogwarts, the Japanese Academy, and the non-magical public education system in Japan, the certificates, titles, and diplomas I have earned through my years of education, my familiar registration forms, my permit to carry my weapons, and a copy of my commission in the Samurai no Mahoujutsu of the Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu of Japan. Once you've received them, I will give you a few minutes to read through everything before I continue."

Ryuu pulled the scroll containing the mentioned documents out of his pocket and with a tap provided the copies (in English) to each of the guests. He then stood calmly at attention with his hands clasped behind his back while he discreetly observed his guests skimming through both the declaration and his entire history. Once he noticed that most of them had finished and were once again giving him their full attention, Ryuu dropped his hands and strode forward to where the huge pensieve was sitting in the center of the room.

"I'd now like to draw your attention to the magical device in the center of the room," Ryuu directed as he gestured to the bowl with one hand. "This is a Projection Pensieve that I designed and created for the express purpose of showing you an assortment of memories from this year and later this evening from my previous years of attendance at Hogwarts. The memories currently swirling inside of this oversized pensieve have been gathered from a large number of students and staff from Hogwarts including myself."

"I will ask at this time that all questions and comments be held until after the presentation for some of your questions will be answered by the memories themselves," Ryuu paused and drew his wand once more. "I, Natsume Ryuu, hereby swear on my life and my magic that all of the memories you will see to night will be, to the best of my knowledge, true accountings of the events that have taken place inside of this school since the night of the opening feast and over the course of the protest movement that I led against Delores Umbridge. On my magic and my life, I do so swear."

There were numerous calls of 'So mote it be'; and Ryuu felt his magic seal his oath dozens of times over. He nodded his thanks to those who accepted the oath and tapped his wand on the control runes of the pensieve as the house elves dimmed the lights from the candles. A moment later, an image of the opening feast rose up out of the pensieve in startling life size detail which sparked a round of curious and appreciative murmurs since they'd feared they'd all be forced to enter the pensieve and leave themselves vulnerable to an attack. A second tap allowed the memory to play out to show Umbridge's speech and then revealed Umbridge's first attempt of waylaying Ryuu and the conversation that Hatake had with her that evening.

Next to play out was Umbridge's attempt to confiscate his weapons, her attempt to destroy his permit to carry said weapons, and Hatake's interference yet again. After that, several memories of class periods Ryuu spent with the woman played out; each one showing Umbridge's constant attacks on Ryuu, her insistence on refusing to acknowledge his legal name, and the ridiculous amount of points and detentions she assigned to him. He also showed them the proof that even Hogwarts did not acknowledge Umbridge's point deductions because she didn't acknowledge him (something that Umbridge had not known until that instant). At that point Ryuu paused the play back to address his audience.

"As you can see, from the moment Umbridge set foot in this castle she has been attacking me without any reason. I, in turn, did my best to ignore her attempts at provoking me even going so far as to prevent my familiars from attacking her in retaliation. Hatake-shishou also repeatedly advised her to cease her attempts to harass me and to convince her to acknowledge my legal name if she truly wished me to acknowledge her in return. This next scroll I will be giving you contains an accounting of each and every detention that I attended that was assigned by Delores Umbridge, whether or not they were fair or even valid, that I served under my Head of House, Flitwick-sensei. Not once did I attempt to get out of the detentions she assigned though it was my right given the fact that her reasons for assigning those detentions were absurd sixty percent of the time."

There was a brief pause as those copies were distributed and skimmed over before Ryuu continued speaking.

"This next memory I will show you took place on the evening of October thirty-first in nineteen ninety-five; the evening I made the decision to accept Umbridge's declaration of war. I had earned yet another detention for failing to capitulate to Umbridge's demands regarding her harassment of me over my name and my right to carry both my weapons and my familiars."

"Knowing that Flitwick-sensei would be overseeing my detention and the fact that I would be attending said detention and therefore not likely to interfere, Umbridge accosted my long time girlfriend, Luna Lovegood, and gave her a detention for that evening because my girlfriend was discussing creatures that Umbridge did not believe exist. When I returned to my common room after serving my own detention, I found my girlfriend in tears and injured with dark magic."

Ryuu then restarted the pensieve to play out the scene from Halloween night and all of the law enforcement officers present growled or cursed as they too recognized the wounds of a blood quill; an illegal magical device across the entire wizarding world. More than one person flinched at the pure fury on Ryuu's face when Luna reluctantly revealed how she'd gotten the injury, the fact that she was supposed to attend five more detentions for the same thing, and her pleas with Ryuu not to react because that was what Umbridge wanted.

The memory ended with Ryuu settling Luna into his lap and comforting her before slipping into Luna's memory of the detention and every one present heard Umbridge's taunts to the fourth year and her plans for Ryuu to attack her so she could teach him a lesson. More than one glare was now being directed to the green, warty witch trussed up on the floor after that memory had finished playing out. Once it finished playing, Ryuu paused the display yet again and pointed his wand towards the ceiling as he first lit the tip of his wand and then conjured a cascade of cherry blossoms to prove he still had his magic (and his life) to indicate that both of those memories were one hundred percent true.

The next hour was spent viewing various memories from over the course of the protest movement, starting with Ryuu's acceptance of Umbridge's Declaration of War (this particular memory from Hermione simply because at the time she'd provided an English translation for those around her that did not speak Japanese). What followed on the heels of that memory was an assortment of the harmless (if humiliating) pranks Ryuu and his army played on Umbridge (and later her subordinates), the witch's harsh and cruel counter measures, the detentions served by those not even participating in the war (including the first years), and the kidnappings that went on (including Kenji's).

He also showed Moody's memory of Umbridge's orders telling him to use corporeal punishment and torture on students during detention, Moody reporting that to Ryuu and his advisory council, and the subsequent evacuation of those students at risk that were not part of the protest movement. The final series of memories showed Umbridge bringing in the dementors, giving permission to the dementors to breed, the round up of over three hundred dementors, and the twenty minutes it took for Ryuu's forces to capture and subdue Umbridge and her minions.

Not a sound could be heard as the final memory sank back down into the pensieve once it had finished playing and the lights were turned back up. The varying degrees of outrage, disgust, and contempt directed at both the English representatives and Umbridge were unmistakable on nearly everyone's faces. The Hogwarts' Board of Governors was looking distinctly uncomfortable as were the Ministry representatives present (bar the Minister). Dumbledore for his part looked saddened and remorseful as he'd been unable to prevent the travesty of justice that had occurred in his school.

"What happened to the dementors that… that… _toad_ brought into this school?" one of the principals from the American schools of magic demanded as he leaned forward to pen Ryuu with a concerned and furious gaze (his fury not directed at Ryuu but at what he was forced to deal with.

"They have been removed permanently," Ryuu replied as he pointed up at the ceiling. All eyes turned to look up and more than a few startled and shocked gasps rang out as they immediately realized that Ryuu hadn't just rounded up the dementors but he'd destroyed them completely. "I have sworn to destroy any and all dementors remaining for they are an abomination and not even a natural creature; they are born of the foulest and darkest of magics and their sentience is stolen from the memories and souls of their victims."

"In destroying the three hundred plus dementors that Umbridge allowed to occupy this castle, I freed over five hundred human, sentient being, and animal souls. So long as a single dementor remains, their tainted and twisted magic will corrupt the wild magic in turn twisting everything around them. I realize that dementors have been and are still used as prison guards in many countries and I am willing to pay for the installation of containment wards to replace the dementors in those prisons for the governments that willingly turn over all dementors in their possession so that they may be destroyed. Specifics can be discussed later though as there is much left to be done this evening."

Ryuu then turned to face Umbridge once more as he pulled a final scroll from his pocket and addressed the captured witch in a cold voice that sent shivers up the spines of many present, "Delores Jane Umbridge, representative of England's Ministry of Magic, former self appointed (and spurious) Headmistress, and supposed professor of Hogwarts' Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, the terms of your surrender are as follows."

"You are hereby immediately required to resign your unlawful tenancy as Headmistress of Hogwarts, withdraw from the position of Hogwarts' professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, resign from all positions that you hold within Britain's Ministry of Magic, swear upon your magic to never again seek employment in any Ministry (world wide) or within any educational facility (world wide), and turn yourself into the Department of Law Enforcement to stand trial for your crimes. Should you refuse to accept these terms of surrender, you will be tried before a jury of your peers this evening. Will you surrender?"

Ryuu waved his wand one last time to free Umbridge of her bonds and to cancel the silencing spell before he tucked it away and held out the terms of surrender and a contract quill in one hand. Umbridge snarled at him as she climbed to her feet, her chest heaving with rage and insanity as she spat on the floor at Ryuu's feet while her hands clutched at her horrid pink robes.

"I will never surrender to a little shit like you, Potter," Umbridge spat out hatefully as she pulled out a concealed wand and screamed, "_Avada Kedavra_!"

Screams rang out and time slowed down as the poisonous green spell rushed towards Ryuu who had absolutely no time to dodge due to how close he was standing to the woman. Ryuu dropped the surrender document and quill and flung Shinjin up into the air with his right hand (to protect the young phoenix) as he reached forward with his left hand, palm outwards as if ordering the spell to stop. At the same time, two hundred of the wild phoenixes appeared behind Umbridge to form a protective barrier behind the woman while additional phoenixes grabbed those seated at the staff table directly behind Umbridge and the prisoners sitting helplessly on front of the table and flashed them out of harm's way.

Time sped back up as Ryuu's scar on the side of his face began glowing brightly as a golden shield formed in front of his outstretched hand in the same instant that the green light of the killing curse would have struck his hand. The curse seemed to swell in size as it collided with the shield and Ryuu was bathed in green light for five long seconds before a blinding white light filled the room as the curse rebounded against the shield and shot back at Umbridge twice as fast and twice as powerful as the original spell.

At the same time, a wave of wild magic exploded outwards from where Ryuu was standing and washed up against the protective wards that Ryuu had placed along the inner edges of the tables. Ryuu's body slid backwards across the floor from the shockwave of magic and his back collided with the large pensieve behind him, knocking the huge bowl from its stand and spilling the collected memories onto the floor.

In the mean time, the ricocheting killing curse swept over Umbridge and turned her body to ash in an instant (much as it had Quirrell's body four years earlier) and continued towards the table where Ryuu's command staff had been sitting just seconds earlier. The wave of killing magic didn't stop until it reached the wall of phoenixes that had gathered behind Umbridge. Over one hundred phoenixes were killed and reborn in that instant, filling the Great Hall with a huge multicolored flash made up of their various elements.

When the dust, smoke, light, and magic cleared the visiting dignitaries were shocked and amazed that Ryuu was not only still alive but still standing (if leaning against his overturned pensieve) as he stared at the remains of Umbridge without pity. Ryuu tucked his throbbing left hand against his stomach as he glanced around to make certain no one else had been hurt before he let out a soft whistle. Dobby popped into existence a heartbeat later, the emotional little elf twisting his ears as huge tears pooled in his eyes and streamed down his face.

"Yous in great trouble Master Ryuu-sama, yous parents and girly-friend are very upset with yous for your recklessness," Dobby declared as he wrung his hands now. "Dobby is being angry with yous too… Dobby does not want to find another master and Master Ryuu-sama nearly broke Dobby's bond to the great Master Ryuu-sama. Dobby is not happy. Not happy at all."

"Gomen, Dobby, gomen nasai," Ryuu murmured as he painfully bowed to the distraught elf and more than one jaw dropped open as people witnessed an extremely powerful wizard (one who'd just survived a killing curse) apologizing and bowing low to a house elf. "I did not think the toad had it in her to use an Unforgivable in front of so many witnesses and there was no time to dodge. Could you please have the house elves gather up the baby phoenixes and take them to my rooms so I can personally care for them over the next couple of weeks while they are vulnerable?"

Dobby nodded and with a snap of his fingers, all of the helpless phoenixes vanished, along with their piles of ashes (all of which would later be found in gold bowls suspended from holly perches in Ryuu's bedroom). The elf hugged Ryuu (who embraced the elf with one arm in return) at that point before the little guy vanished out of the hall.

Ryuu then pushed himself away from his pensieve, his back protesting as he stumbled a bit but somehow managed to stay on his feet only to end up jarring his left hand which was now burning and throbbing with every beat of his heart. Grimacing over the pain, Ryuu slowly stood up straight and felt his back crack several times as it pulled on bruised muscles, bones, and tendons. Luckily, he hadn't done any serious damage thanks to the armor he was wearing; that's not to say he wasn't feeling the pain though.

"I will not mourn the loss of a witch that brought nothing but pain to this school," Ryuu loudly proclaimed as he pointed to the only pile of ashes that remained just a few short feet in front of the staff table. "I offered her reasonable terms based upon her actions and instead of even attempting to offer counter terms she attacked much as she had during the entire school year; with unnecessary and excessive violence. Magic itself judged her and extracted its payment from her; magic took her life in payment for her crimes."

He paused and took a slow breath, fighting against the pain radiating through his back and from his hand in an effort to prevent the pain from being heard in his voice. Once he felt in control once again, Ryuu continued, "I will leave it up to those of you gathered here today to decide if Umbridge's trial is still necessary or not, though any punishment she may or may not have earned has already been administered by her own hand. If you chose to forgo the trial, then I will ask you for ten or fifteen minutes recess before I get to the most important reason for asking you all to join me here today."

Before any of the visiting dignitaries could respond, Hatake, Satoshi, and Healer Inoue finally reached Ryuu's side (they'd been just as stunned as everyone else over what happened and had taken a moment to reboot their brains long enough to dash around the table). Hatake and Satoshi both began striping Ryuu's armor from his chest and peeled his kimono down to reveal the huge bruise that covered more than two thirds of Ryuu's back (making more than a few witches and wizards wince sympathetically when they saw it and the old scar that bisected his back).

Ryuu simply sighed and leaned against his honorary uncle as Healer Inoue began casting several diagnostic scans to determine the extent of the damage before he began healing what he could. Since he was mostly just bruised; that involved reducing the swelling, mending the ruptured blood vessels, and numbing the pain. Once he took care of that, Healer Inoue wrapped Ryuu's torso in snug bandages that would help support his back and prevent any more swelling."

"Arigatou, Inoue-sama," Ryuu murmured as he sagged further into his uncle's arms. "I had not realized just how much pain I was in. Could you please take a look at my hand now?"

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – Thank you  
>Gomengomen nasai – I'm sorry

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Yay, the mess with Umbridge is finally over… well mostly over. Dealing with the toad was difficult because it has been done so many times in so many different ways that it's hard to find something unique to do to her. I think I failed in some ways but over all I'm happy with what I have. The next chapter will tie up the impromptu world meeting that Ryuu arranged and will be up soon, I hope. _

_As of right now, there are also only ten more chapters left to be posted for this story. Once those ten chapters have been posted, I will be posting the first chapter of Discovering the Heart (the third and final book of my Discovering Series); something that has been a long time in coming. I hope to have the last of the edits posted on WWYR1 by then and the new chapter added to that story as well as have the first chapter of WWY2 either posted or ready for posting at the same time. _

_In the mean time, I just posted a new one-shot called 'Good Intentions' that has been two years in the making. It was a story I worked on in bits and pieces while trying to get other things done. Anyway, that's about it from me for now. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and should have the next one up soon. ~ Jenn_


	43. A Side Order of Insanity

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 42: Restoring Order, Forming Alliances, and a Side Order of Insanity<span>

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>January 1996 ~ May 1996<em>

Ryuu's left palm looked much like the outsides of his arms now, though the damage was still red and raw from where the killing curse had struck the shield that had formed in front of his palm. There was a small circle in the center of his hand just slightly bigger than the tip of a wand and radiating out from that circle were dozens of angry red lines and cuts. The entire hand was over saturated with magic and the magical burns (which were what had caused the angry red welts and lines) throbbed and burned painfully with each beat of Ryuu's heart. In fact, the heat was slowly traveling up his arm and the pain growing steadily worse the longer it went untreated.

Hatake had signaled to Satoshi to help him hold Ryuu the moment all three adults had taken one look at the red, raw, bleeding hand Ryuu had held out to them. The older wizard had then grasped Ryuu's left elbow and wrist to hold the hand steady as Healer Inoue first cast a couple of diagnostic charms over the injured hand. Once he knew the extent of the injury (including the fact that it was over saturated with magic) Healer Inoue began healing the hand. He started by siphoning off the excess magic from the wound, pulling the magic from Ryuu's hand with his wand. Ryuu whimpered as the magic was drawn off and when the pain only intensified he let out a half strangled scream that soon morphed into a scream of pure agony; the pain was worse than the Cruciatus as the nerves in his hand felt the searing, intense pain of hundreds of knives tearing into his flesh.

He'd had no idea a simple healing could hurt so much; the first time he'd suffered from a similar injury he'd been unconscious through the healing and so hadn't experienced first hand how bad it could be. He tried to jerk his hand away from the pain but Hatake held it firmly while Satoshi had him firmly around the chest preventing him from using his weight to break the older wizard's hold. Ryuu probably would have screamed a second time if not for Shinjin landing on his shoulder and singing a soft soothing song that immediately eased the pain to a slightly more tolerable level (even if it was still sheer agony). All around the room, those watching who'd experienced similar types of injuries winced sympathetically as they were well aware of just how painful the process of pulling excess magic from a magical burn hurt.

"Almost done, Natsume-kun," Healer Inoue murmured gently. "The pain will be gone in a moment."

When the healer finally pulled his wand tip away from Ryuu's hand, the teen had tears streaming down his face from the pain. Ryuu sighed and whined softly under his breath as he sagged back into Satoshi the abrupt absence of pain sapping his strength as he revealed in the feeling of not-pain. Closing his eyes, he sucked in breath after breath as his entire body began shaking from the shock of both the pain and the abrupt cessation of pain.

"Easy, kiddo, don't pass out on us now," Hatake murmured as he relaxed his grip just a touch as Healer Inoue prepared to finish healing the injury.

Before Healer Inoue could cast his next healing spell an ice phoenix landed on the healer's outstretched wand arm and trilled at the wizard. The bird then turned and called to Ryuu who cracked one eye open to stare at the bird who ruffled his feathers and tilted his head sideways before glancing down at Ryuu's lightly restrained hand. Ryuu frowned and opened both eyes all the way as he tried to puzzle out what the phoenix wanted.

"I think he's offering to heal your hand but he wants your permission," Hatake slowly offered as he too watched the bird repeat its questioning gestures and glances.

"I would be honored," Ryuu murmured softly.

"Please allow me to clean the wound first," Healer Inoue interjected before the bird could move. "I'm certain there is nothing harmful in the wound but I'd rather you not have to suffer as you did at the end of your second year."

The phoenix shrugged and shifted until he was sitting on the healer's shoulder to allow the wizard to cast his spell. Two swishes and a jab later the wound had been cleaned and sterilized and the bird slipped back down to cry several ice cold pearly drops onto Ryuu's hand. Soothing coolness spread from those precious drops as the healing power of the phoenix's tears slowly repaired the damage, leaving behind a tracery of scars (a product of the dark magic that lingered in the wound from the killing curse).

"Thank you, friend," Ryuu whispered as he reached up with his newly healed hand and scratched the wild ice phoenix beneath the chin the moment his uncle let go. The phoenix practically purred beneath the attention before it chirruped and flashed away leaving all four wizards covered with a thin layer of ice crystals. "Ahh, that's cold!" A trill of phoenix laughter echoed through the Great Hall and Ryuu just knew the phoenix had iced them on purpose.

"Are you going to be alright now?" Satoshi asked softly as he gently pushed Ryuu up onto his feet without quite letting the younger wizard go.

"I think so," Ryuu replied as he tried taking his own weight so he wasn't relying on Satoshi to support him. "I do wish someone would have at least warned me about the pain before hand though." As he said the last bit he glowered at his uncle and the healer who both had the grace to look sheepish.

"We thought you would have known since you've had the same type of injury before," Healer Inoue stated as he held up Ryuu's right arm to indicate the start burst scars on the outside of his arm.

"I was unconscious when they healed those ones," Ryuu replied with a shrug as he finally managed to stand up completely on his own.

"I hate to interrupt you gentlemen," a voice called, "but I believe you'd asked us to decide if there was a need for a trial still?"

"Moushiwake arimasen deshita," Ryuu automatically blurted out as he bowed low to the visiting dignitaries and nearly ending up falling on his face as he overbalanced and it was Hatake's quick reflexes that saved him as the older man snagged his elbow and jerked him back up. Chuckles rang out through the room and Ryuu blushed bright red as he self-consciously pulled up his kimono and straightened his clothes; not bothering with his armor since he wasn't certain he had the strength to wear the heavy dragon scales at the moment.

"Bless you, child," the Dali Lama murmured with a smile. "Your innocence in light of what you just experienced and how closely you came to perishing is wondrously refreshing and humbling. You showed remarkable restraint when dealing with everything that was thrown at you."

"Guts," one of the Americans called out. "That kid has guts. I've never seen someone stand so calmly in the face of a killin' curse like that before. Ya think ya could teach others how to do that fancy shield thing? It would surly come in handy when fightin'."

"I apologize," Ryuu murmured as he turned to face the American. "It is not possible to teach another how to recreate that shield. As I told Dumbledore-shishou when he asked me the first time I used it when I was eleven, it is not just my magic that forms the shield and it is not something that I can consciously produce; it appears on its own only when I am faced with the Killing Curse; almost like an outburst of accidental magic with a specific purpose." Ryuu then turned to bow respectfully to the Dali Lama. "Arigatou, shishou, your kind words are appreciated if a little unwarranted as I am afraid I lost my innocence many years ago."

"Don't be rude," Hatake chastised as he slapped Ryuu in the stomach with the back of his hand. "Forgive my nephew; he is still a teenager with all the emotional angst of a teenager."

"I'm so going to make you pay for that, old man," Ryuu muttered as he shifted out of reach of Hatake's arms to avoid another belly slap.

"As entertaining as this is, we are on a tight schedule here, gentlemen," the first voice reminded them and Ryuu immediately snapped to attention as he glanced towards the Magical Magistrate of Japan and bowed respectfully in silent apology before giving the man his complete attention. "It was unanimously agreed that there is no need to hold trial for the deceased Delores Umbridge; her crimes were readily apparent as was her guilt through her own actions and as you said magic has seen to her punishment by her own hand. I for one would wish to know what you think is far more important than bringing such a criminal to justice."

Ryuu nodded in response to the request as he ordered, "Ground Squads Three, Four and Six, please escort the rest of the transfigured students and those staff members that followed Umbridge out of the room so they can be dealt with later. I'd like to thank the members of Hogwarts Board of Governors and all of the reporters for coming tonight; if all of you will please follow Flying Squads Two and Six, they will escort you off the grounds."

He waited for his requests to be carried out (studiously ignoring the complaints being given by the members of the board as they were escorted out of the room) before he slipped his cherry wand from his sleeve and used it to right the pensieve and return the spilled memories to the basin. He then tapped the control runes on the side of the pensieve which brought forth the image of a younger image of himself standing with his arm outstretched towards a fancy gold trophy. Those who had witnessed that particular memory before blanched as they shifted uncomfortably.

"I doubt that anyone here actually wishes to view that particular memory, Mr. Natsume," Dumbledore hastily pointed out as he gave the fifteen year old a pointed glance over his glasses.

"I beg to differ, Dumbledore-shishou," Ryuu countered with steel in his voice. "I think everyone in this room needs to see that memory so they know what they will be facing if the problem isn't nipped in the bud. You would prefer it if I faced the Dark Lord alone without any training; a lamb walking to the slaughter. You wanted me to be your loyal chess piece with a desire for acceptance so strong that I'd willingly sacrifice myself for a world that abandoned me to my misery while they celebrated Voldemort's supposed death fourteen years ago."

"You've had over six months to pass along this information to the rest of the world and you've done nothing that I have seen. You've also not yet made good on your oath to pass along the information you have on Voldemort. Tonight, the entire ugly truth will finally be told so that the problem can be acknowledged and plans made to deal with it once and for all." Ryuu paused for a moment as his face softened a bit before he continued, "You are a great wizard, Dumbledore-shishou, and I respect you for what you have done for me through the years but you have to see beyond the big picture. You have to remember that the picture you see is made up of millions upon millions of people."

Ryuu paused a second time as his expression darkened once more before he continued. "People you have been willing to sacrifice in the name of some unnamed Greater Good while you try to spare the few you think need to be redeemed never realizing that it is the innocents that will pay for your choices with their blood and their lives." Ryuu frowned and started a bit as he finally recognized the feel of the diadem's magic threading through his mind feeding him information. Growling slightly, he muttered out a soft, "damn diadem," before he looked back up and met Dumbledore's shocked gaze.

Sighing, Ryuu turned away from the currently former Headmaster in order to address the rest of the room, "As many of you know, I was born during a time of great fear here in Great Britain, when the man known as the Dark Lord Voldemort was terrorizing the British wizarding and non-magical societies; his actions coming close to revealing the wizarding world to the non-magicals due to his vicious attacks and constant open displays of magic. A year and a half later the world rejoiced as the news of Voldemort's supposed death flew around the world faster than an owl's wings."

"Britain would have the world believe that an eighteen month old baby defeated one of the worst Dark Lord's in the last two hundred years. I don't know if it is because they truly believed him to be dead, desperately wished him to be dead, or feared that if they thought he might still be alive it would come true. The truth is though that the Dark Lord did not die; he was merely banished for ten years. I faced him at the end of my first year, I faced him again at the end of my second year, I faced him yet again at the end of my fourth year, and I faced him a fourth time less than two months ago."

Murmurs broke out at this revelation and Dumbledore went pale as he'd not been present in the castle when Ryuu dealt with the diadem and he'd not been informed of the confrontation with the soul fragment. "I have the memories of each and every one of those encounters inside of this pensive but at this time I'm only going to show what I believe to be the most important one in order to save time. If any of you wish to view the others we can make arrangements for you to do so later. I will warn you now that what you are about to see isn't pretty and is in no way, shape, or form a pleasant memory."

With that Ryuu started the memory and watched just long enough to see Viktor's desperate warning about the trap before he turned his back on the memory and walked away from the pensieve. He was shaking again as he tried to block out the sounds of the memory as it played; his thoughts centering on the absent Shogun. Shinjin trilled softly, a sad song of shared grief, as she rubbed her cheek against Ryuu's.

Ryuu smiled softly at the gentle reminder that he was not alone and lifted his hand so he could brush his fingers over her feathers. Needing to block out the memory that was playing behind him, Ryuu headed towards the staff table where his uncle had set his armor and dug out his ocarina. He then settled on the edge of the dais, with his back still facing the memory, and began softly playing one of his favorite tunes as Tenji sauntered over to him and curled up against his side and Shinjin softly trilled along with the barely audible song.

He was so focused on not hearing or reliving that terrible memory that he never noticed when Hatake stepped forward to stop the playback. He'd not even registered the sounds of several people being sick throughout the room as they'd witnessed the rebirth of Voldemort and the battle that followed. It wasn't until he felt a hand falling on his shoulder that Ryuu came back to the present and he looked up and smiled weakly at his uncle before he tucked away his flute and rose back to his feet. He then wiped his face of all emotion as he turned to face the visiting dignitaries and reporters.

"What was your purpose in showing us such a thing?" the Australian Minister demanded.

"Aside from insuring that you were made aware of what the world is now facing?" Ryuu countered as he arched an eyebrow at the wizard. Ryuu let the silence draw out for a full minute before he answered the question, "To ask for your help in dealing with him and those that follow him by not allowing him to recruit new followers in your respective countries, not selling him or his followers supplies or weapons or purchase anything he has to offer, and to pass along any information you may learn of his movements. I would also be open to accepting advice, training, equipment, supplies or man power you are willing to offer or provide at reasonable prices or in trade for services, ward schemes, or enchanted artifacts. I am fully aware that I can't fight a war on my own and certain individuals in the British magical government have already made it perfectly clear that they are not willing to cooperate. Isn't that right, Minister Ogden?"

All eyes swung to the English Minister of Magic in time to see a completely blank look on his face. Ryuu frowned as he'd expected the man to react to his accusation. Apparently so did a number of those in the Minister's party as Amelia Bones (Head of the Department of Law Enforcement) stood up and stunned the Minister without any hesitation only for the two Aurors that had escorted the Minister to raise their wands to attack Madam Bones and Ryuu shouted a warning as he saw the tips of their wands glow green as both men fired the killing curse at the witch from behind her back.

Screams rang out once more as the green light of the killing curse filled the Great Hall for the second time that evening. The only thing that saved both Amelia Bones and Albus Dumbledore (who was sitting right beside her) from certain death was the timely intervention of Fawkes and another of the wild phoenixes as they intercepted the curses and swallowed them even as Ryuu's soldiers and other Aurors posted in that part of the room quickly took out the two attackers.

"And that is why I can't do this alone," Ryuu stated wearily as he walked across the room, ducked under the table, and gathered the newly reborn wild phoenix in his hands as he softly called for Dobby. The elf quickly appeared and took both the phoenix and its ashes before leaving once again; Dumbledore having already rescued his own familiar. Ryuu then stepped over to the two unconscious Aurors and ripped their left sleeves from their arms, revealing the blackened dark marks on their forearms to those in the immediate area. "The corruption is spreading far faster than I would have believed possible but then again after the end of Voldemort's first rise to power more than two thirds of the Death Eaters were allowed to walk free because they were purebloods with enough money to bribe their way to freedom."

"A grave revelation, indeed," the Japanese Magistrate intoned. "I will repeat what I told you three months ago; Japan will stand behind you and help you in any way that we can. You have shown yourself to be a strong leader and a powerfully talented wizard over the long months that we have watched you. You have also, beyond a shadow of a doubt, proved yourself to be a valuable asset to the Japanese Magical Community."

"Arigatou," Ryuu replied as he bowed towards the Japanese wizard.

"You will also have my support," Madam Bones declared as she shakily sat back in her seat. "I also owe you my life; if not for your warning and the wild phoenixes you summoned I would have been cut down. I will start by doing a department wide audit to weed out any remaining Death Eaters that have managed to infiltrate our forces."

Over the course of the next hour more than half of those representatives from the various magical communities attending had also pledged their support while all but a small handful of those remaining swore to not join or support Voldemort while offering purchasing contracts for various crops (magical and non-magical) or other supplies and equipment. The final small group only promised to remaining neutral and Ryuu nodded in understanding even as he politely asked them to leave.

Standing just outside the entrance to the Great Hall, Alastor Moody discreetly Obliviated each of those individuals that were asked to leave so that none of them could betray anything that had been shown or discussed over the course of the evening; leaving them only with the knowledge that Umbridge had been guilty of crimes against humanity and that she'd been executed on site after a short feast. Those that remained spent another two hours hashing out the terms of their newly created alliance as well as several treaties and contracts between each other and with Ryuu. Each of Ryuu's new allies also made arrangements to discuss the future fate of any dementors under their control.

Once the meeting was wrapped up around three-thirty in the morning, each country's representatives promised to elect or select various experts, instructors, or military officers to be part of Ryuu newly expanded council of advisors before they were escorted out of the castle until all that remained were those from the British Ministry and Japanese Magistrate's office. At that point Ryuu dismissed the rest of the students that had participated in the night's events.

Once the room was mostly empty, Ryuu sat down in the middle of the room, wrapped his arms around his legs, and pressed his face against his knees while wondering what the hell he thought he was playing at; his thoughts rapidly spiraling downwards, _I'm only fifteen years old… What the hell was I thinking!? Oh kuso… otousan and okaasan are going to be so upset with me. I shouldn't have to be the one to lead this fight. Why…? Why does it have to be me?_

"Natsume?"

_I don't know if I can do this,_ Ryuu signed without looking up; the stress of everything that had gone wrong that evening, the knowledge that he'd just put himself on the front lines, and the strain of taking and deflecting yet another killing curse making him doubt himself and retreat into familiar silence. _I can't believe I was stupid enough to free her without thinking to search for an extra wand. Any one of those I invited here tonight could have died and I could have started a war._

"You are not required to do this on you own, child," Ashikaga gently chided as he sat down on the floor next to his protégé. "I thought I had taught you at least that much. We all make mistakes and while you learned a valuable lesson tonight no one was seriously injured aside from yourself. For one so untrained in the political arena, I thought you handled yourself very well considering exactly who was present during the proceedings. You even managed to unveil two Death Eaters that would have carried word of all that we'd done here back to their lord and master if they hadn't been discovered. I am also certain that the English Minister will be pleased to learn that it was your actions that freed him from the Imperius Curse he'd been placed under at some point."

"And you could not have known that Umbridge was carrying a second wand," Hatake added as he dropped down on Ryuu's other side. "She should have been searched when she was first captured."

"She was," Cedric replied as he stood nervously in front of Ryuu (the older teen one of the few that had remained behind). "I searched her myself and all I found was her original wand and a couple of blood quills."

"Sounds like the work of a concealed holster, Notice-Me-Not-Charm, or some other ward, spell, charm, or device," Moody's gruff voice pointed out as he clapped Cedric on the back before moving up beside Hatake. "If it makes the both of you feel better I scanned her with my magical eye and saw nothing until the moment she pulled the wand."

"How is your hand?" Ashikaga asked when Ryuu finally lifted his head to glance at them.

"A little stiff, a little sore, and a little… I don't know… numb and tingly?" Ryuu half stated and half asked with a trace of uncertainty as he glanced down at his left hand and flexed his fingers as he stared at his newest scar. "Why did it hurt so much when Inoue-sama was healing it?"

"You had a magical burn from the amount of friction created when the Killing Curse struck the shield that formed in front of your hand and the resulting injury was over saturated with magic," Hatake explained, having seen enough witches and wizards injured with magical burns throughout his career as part of Japan's magical police force to answer Ryuu's question. "In order to treat the injury, the excess magic needed to be siphoned off. The nerves in your hand were burned in addition to the skin of your palm and when the magic was pulled out it was being pulled over and through those nerves which only multiplied the pain you were feeling at the time. You could compare it to getting a severe sunburn and then jumping into a bathtub filled with hot water; only about a hundred times worse I'd imagine."

"It hurt worse than Voldemort's Cruciatus," Ryuu whispered hollowly. "Though no where near as much as it hurt to lose Shogun."

"Why didn't you just move out of the way? Or allow one of the phoenixes to take the curse?" Professor Flitwick demanded as he strode up to the group sitting on the floor with a scowl on his face.

"I was standing far too close to her and there wasn't enough time," Ryuu stated simply as he closed his eyes. "It felt as if time had slowed down and at the same time like there was no time to think. I'm certain Shinjin would have taken the curse for me if I'd let her but I did not wish to risk loosing her to the stress of a forced burning day so soon after her premature first burning."

"You do realize your parents aren't going to be happy with you that you pretty much just stood there to take that curse, ne?" Hatake drawled questioningly as he leaned to the side a bit to stare at Ryuu from his right eye.

"Hai, oji, I am fully aware of just how deep I stepped in it this time," Ryuu replied dryly as he dropped his head back on his arms where they were curled around his knees. "Not that the toad gave me much of a choice."

"If you can pull yourself together for a moment, Natsume, there is one last thing that must be done today," Ashikaga declared solemnly as he put his hand on Ryuu's shoulder and climbed to his feet.

Ryuu sighed and spent a moment trying to get hold of his emotions before he reluctantly climbed back to his feet. When he looked up he was a bit surprised to find several of those students that had helped him lead the student protestors lined up on his left and a handful of his advisory council and command staff lined up on his right while Ashikaga had moved to join Yamamoto and the Japanese Magistrate where they stood between the two groups. He jumped a bit when Hatake straightened his uniform with a quick flick of his wand before Satoshi brought over his armor and began helping Hatake buckle it back into place while Ryuu glanced about in bewilderment as he had no idea what was going on.

Once he was completely kitted out once again, Ryuu was pushed along so he was standing just in front of the trio of elderly wizards while everyone else withdrew to either side to watch. Swallowing thickly, Ryuu took a shaky breath as he realized he was acting like a nervous first year out to buy his first wand. Centering himself, he erased all signs of discomfort and confusion from his face as he snapped to attention before bowing low to the three most powerful wizards in Japan.

He missed seeing the proud smiles that his various teacher and instructors sent his way while his eyes were on the floor in front of him and they'd schooled their faces by the time he'd straightened back up. What followed was a short ceremony and speech given by the Magistrate as Ryuu was officially promoted from special major to special lieutenant colonel. A single spell later, and the insignia on his uniform and armor shifted as the single gold star moved to one side while a second star joined the first so that they sat side by side above the two bars.

Ryuu wasn't exactly sure what to think of his promotion as he walked through the castle in a daze that was partly mental and emotional and partly from the exhaustion that was settling around him due to the events that had happened over the course of the evening. He also wasn't quite certain what to think about the way things had turned out and despite what the others had told him he couldn't help but blame himself for everything that had gone wrong over the course of the evening. That wasn't to say he didn't acknowledge the things that went right, because he did, it was just hard not to dwell on that which went wrong; Ryuu was human after all.

Shaking his head to clear his mind, Ryuu finally noticed he'd reached the third floor and he sighed as he realized he'd walked right passed the dojo without even realizing it. He glanced back down the stairs behind him and decided that it might just be best to sleep before he had to face the music; he wasn't quite ready for the scolding he was certain he'd be getting from both of his parents. Sighing, Ryuu continued on to his quarters, intent on crawling into his bed for a long nap.

Unfortunately for Ryuu, his family had anticipated his attempt at avoidance and they were currently occupying his sitting room. The moment he stepped into the room he was ambushed by two blurs and between one second and the next he found himself on the floor on his back with Luna clinging to his chest and Kenji firmly attached to his left leg. Two seconds after his brain finally caught up with what had happened he felt the renewed pain his in back as his girlfriend and brother had just added to the large bruise he'd received when he'd smashed into the pensieve.

"Itai," Ryuu groaned as he closed his eyes and let his head fall back on the floor which caused his helmet to fall off and roll across the floor.

"Don't you ever do that to me again, my Dragon," Luna growled without any of her usual dreaminess. "The only reason I'm not not speaking to you is because you suspected she'd try something tonight which is why I'd allowed you to forbid me from attending as I'd originally wanted to."

"I didn't know she would resort to unforgivables but I knew she wouldn't just give up without a fight once she realized there was no way for her to wriggle out of her own trap," Ryuu replied softly. "I just didn't want to give her a target other than myself and she already knew you and my family mean the world to me."

"So why didn't you just let a phoenix take the hit like the ones that took the two curses from the Death Eaters? Or at least dodge the curse?" Takashi demanded as he walked over to peel Kenji off of Ryuu's legs so the teen could get up off the floor.

"There wasn't any time and I was standing too close."

"Nii! Nii!" Kenji cried in his childish voice as he squirmed in Takashi's arms and reached out towards Ryuu.

Luna reluctantly climbed off Ryuu in order to let him up and Ryuu rolled over onto his stomach so he could push himself to his feet only to feel himself being picked up by the back of his armor. Turning to glance over his shoulder, Ryuu found a glaring Madara firmly holding him in his jaws and Ryuu sighed and crossed his arms as he was carried across the room and dumped unceremoniously on the couch. The wolf spirit then pinned him in place with his nose as he continued to glare at Ryuu and the teen huffed and arched an eyebrow at the youkai. A second later he had a lap full of lucky cat as said cat began yelling and cussing at him calling him ten kinds of fools.

"Urusai, sensei," Ryuu finally huffed after listening to the youkai for several minutes before he scratched the fat cat behind the ears.

"Neko! Wuff, wuff, neko! Nii!" Kenji squealed as Takashi settled him on his hip, his little arms still stretching out towards Ryuu and Nyanko.

To the shock of those watching, Nyanko-sensei suddenly floated up out of Ryuu's lap and drifted across the room with his pudgy little legs churning like mad and his eyes wide with fright. "Put me down! Put me down right now, baka! Natsume-kun put me down!" Nyanko wailed as he rolled over onto his back in midair and glared at Ryuu who was gaping at him.

"That's not me, sensei!" Ryuu protested as he held up his hands to prove he didn't have his wand.

That made everyone else in the room freeze except for Nyanko who was still drifting steadily towards where Takashi was standing with Kenji in his arms and the excited Kenji who was alternately cooing about the 'kitty' and calling for his brother. When the toddlers little arms wrapped as far around Nyanko's belly as he could reach, Ryuu suddenly started laughing. Everyone else glanced between the happily squealing Kenji and the now hysterically laughing Ryuu in confusion.

"Kenji, you clever little boy you," Ryuu finally crowed between a giggle and a snicker several minutes later.

"Um… what am I missing?" Taki asked as she fought the urge to gather her youngest son and Nyanko in her arms and squish them both in a bear hug over how adorable they both looked or scold her oldest for the heart attack he'd nearly given her earlier.

"Kenji… (gasp… snicker) magic… (snicker… snort)… sensei… (giggle… gasp) never escape!" Ryuu managed to get out as he started laughing even harder at the look of pure agony and fear on Nyanko's face.

"You think your little brother just did his first bout of accidental magic," Luna stated serenely as she settled down on the couch next to Ryuu and poked at his dragon scale armor. "You need to take your armor off, my Dragon; I can't cuddle you properly while you wear it."

"Unless you floated Nyanko-sensei over to Kenji, Luna; who else in here could have done it?" Ryuu asked with a maniacal grin as Nyanko whimpered and went limp in Kenji's embrace. "I certainly didn't do it; I know sensei doesn't like having magic used on him."

"Kenji's a wizard?" Takashi asked weakly as he dropped down into the nearest chair, shifted Kenji onto his lap, and stared at his youngest son (who was still cuddling Nyanko) in shock. "How? Neither Taki nor I are magical at all!"

"What did I miss?" Hatake asked as he stepped into the room followed by Satoshi (who was carrying Tenji) just a few minutes later to find everyone staring silently at the happily gurgling one year old while Ryuu continued to laugh.

"My clever little otouto just did his first bout of accidental magic," Ryuu proudly proclaimed as said little brother squealed again as he hugged the cat in his arms tightly.

"You think Kenji's a wizard?" Hatake asked unknowingly repeating Takashi's earlier question. Instead of waiting for an answer, the gray haired wizard whipped out his wand and cast the spell to measure Kenji's magical index and everyone but Ryuu gaped as the number seventy-three shimmered into existence above the baby's head. "Well I'll be… Kenji-kun is a wizard. Why didn't anyone check when he was born?"

"We thought there was no reason to check," Taki replied as she shook off her shock and smiled gently at her husband and son. "There has never been any magic in my family or Takashi's. We never thought there was a possibility that Kenji could be a wizard."

"Magic has been known to appear randomly in families that have no history of magical blood," Hatake reminded them. "Muggleborns, newbloods, first generation magicals, balance keepers… just a small handful of names given to the children born with magic in families with no magical blood. There has been some speculation over the past couple of centuries that the appearance of a magical child in a non-magical family is due to a squib ancestor somewhere in the past but there has been no proof. Magic is not just in a child's blood it is in their very soul and blood alone doesn't guarantee that you will have magic."

"How though? I mean… what were the chances that Kenji-kun would be born magical?" Takashi asked as he furrowed his brow.

"He was conceived in Hogwarts, okaasan spent most of her pregnancy here in Hogwarts, I spent a considerable amount of time around okaasan while she was pregnant, and he was born in Hogwarts," Ryuu replied before he frowned and sent a glare towards his bedroom. "Damn diadem…"

"Ryuu-kun?" Hatake queried as he gave the teen a confused look.

"Kenji was exposed to the ambient magic in and around Hogwarts while he was developing," Ryuu replied as he pulled his eyes away from the door leading into his room. "On top of that I spent a considerable amount of time sleeping in my room in otousan's quarters after Halloween while under the constant stress from the tournament and I was probably radiating magic on a near constant basis. The night Kenji was born I was with okaasan playing my flute; it was probably my magic that sent okaasan into early labor that night because I'd been so upset as I tried to figure out that stupid riddle from the second task."

"Why do you think that?" Takashi asked as he slowly adjusted to the idea that he had two magical sons, not just one as he'd believed for the past year.

"I didn't think it," Ryuu growled as he tossed another glare at his bedroom door. "The magic from Ravenclaw's diadem supplied the knowledge. I don't like it when it does that. It's why I rarely ever touch the circlet; I don't like not figuring things out for myself. It's cheating."

"That happened earlier tonight when you were chastising Dumbledore-shishou," Hatake realized as he canceled the indexing spell and dropped down onto the couch. "Does it do that often? Provide answers when you aren't any where near it?"

Ryuu shrugged to indicate he didn't have an answer before he turned pensive as he glanced between his parents. After a moment he tentatively asked, "You aren't… you aren't angry that he's a wizard… are you?"

"No!" Taki and Takashi both vehemently denied without any hesitation.

"Absolutely not," Takashi continued. "Just a little shocked and surprised is all."

"Why would we be angry?" Taki asked softly.

Ryuu shrugged again and turned away from his mother, a light flush spreading over the back of his neck and face. The years he'd lived with his parents had done much to put to rest the demons of his past but that didn't mean he had no memory of the years he'd spent in the less than perfect care of his other relatives. It wasn't often that he thought about them or those dark years but there were times, like now, when he couldn't help but recall how the Dursleys had felt about his strangeness. How they hated everything he represented because he'd never been normal.

"He's our son and your little brother," Takashi gently reaffirmed as he rose to his feet and plopped Kenji down on Ryuu's lap before placing a hand on Ryuu's head. "We'd love him regardless of whether or not he had magic and whether or not he could see the youkai. That he can do both just means that he has more in common with his big brother than we thought. The only thing his being a wizard changes is the fact that we're going to have to register him for either Hogwarts or the academy when he gets older and that we'll have to be mindful when we go out to avoid displays of accidental magic in public. Does it bother you that your brother is magical?"

"It bothers me," Nyanko huffed with a small growl as he wriggled in the toddler's arms.

"Be silent," Ryuu ordered absently as he thumped the disguised wolf-spirit lightly between the eyes with his knuckles as he seriously considered the question his father asked him and his feelings for his brother. "Otousan wasn't asking for your opinion, sensei; we already know you don't like magic." Ryuu chewed his lip for a moment as he glanced down at the one year old in his lap and he smiled fondly when his brother flashed him a grin as he snuggled into Ryuu's arms. "And no… it's doesn't bother me; I think it's neat that he's a wizard."

Ryuu then looked up and met his father's eyes with worried green eyes, "It also frightens me because it makes him even more of a target. Although, he would be a target no matter what because he's my little brother."

"He will be alright," Luna declared in her dreamy voice as she unbuckled Ryuu's armor since he'd made no move to remove it even though she'd ordered him to earlier. "His big brother won't let anything happen to him."

"Nii! Nii! Neko!" Kenji cried happily as if he'd just agreed with the dainty blonde.

* * *

><p>Settling back into school wasn't as easy as Ryuu had hoped as he constantly found himself looking over his shoulder expecting to be attacked as he walked freely through the castle for the first time in three months. Those professors and staff members that had helped her had been extensively questioned by the Department of Law Enforcement and most of them allowed to return to work when it was discovered that Umbridge had bullied and blackmailed them into doing her bidding. The exception was Snape but his reasons had more to do with his position as a spy in Voldemort's inner circle than it did with Umbridge holding any sway over him. That and the fact that the caustic man hadn't been able to stomach even the thought of working with James Potter's son.<p>

The students that had followed Umbridge's orders were also interrogated and the younger ones were eventually allowed to return to classes while those that were sixteen and seventeen years of age were held accountable for their actions. A few of them were expelled from Hogwarts and arrested while others were merely suspended for the remainder of the year and would be allowed to return the following year to retake the year they pretty much lost because of Umbridge. A small handful were allowed to continue classes without repercussions when it turned out that they, like some of the staff, had been bullied and blackmailed into helping the toad. In a few cases, the students had been fearful that younger siblings would be harmed if they didn't do as they were told.

Those students that had spent a month and a half hidden down in the Chamber of Secrets often sought out Ryuu once they moved back up into the main part of the castle. Many of them just wanted to thank him for protecting them from Umbridge while a number of them wanted to thank him for healing the cuts from the blood quill or other dark curses that had been used on them.

A group of the younger students had even formed a fan club strictly for Ryuu and a number of the older students that had led the protest movement (completely different from the Harry Potter flan club that was still in denial that Ryuu had changed his name). These weren't the rabid fan girls and boys that sought to be Mrs. or Mr. Potter (or Natsume if they acknowledged his adoption)… no they were the ones who wanted to grow up to be just as cool, just as powerful, and just as smart as Ryuu and the other student leaders. It was a fan club that Ryuu readily supported because the members ultimately just wanted to improve themselves and so he willingly helped them and encouraged the rest of the student protestors to do the same.

Dumbledore had been reinstated as Headmaster the night after the coup against Umbridge and he spent the first month trying to bring the school back under control (the ghosts, house elves, portraits, and poltergeist often still seeking out Ryuu for commands) and speaking to the students in small groups. Ryuu didn't exactly help matters since he didn't tell the denizens of the castle to return to their normal duties but he didn't exactly hinder Dumbledore's efforts either; he simply left it up to the castle to decide if Dumbledore was fit enough to control it.

And the castle was far more alive and sentient than it had been in years since so much of the dark magic that had been slowly taking over the castle (for the past two or three centuries) had been removed and purified. What little dark magic remained was slowly breaking down because there was nothing for it to cling to; something the Gray Lady had predicted would happen. In fact, the castle had taken to hunting and purging the dark magic itself and would occasionally guide Ryuu to those areas that it couldn't cleanse itself (the castle regaining a degree of sentience thanks to the reduction of dark magic within its walls).

After two months of fighting the castle, Dumbledore finally approached Ryuu and asked him to relinquish control of the castle's magic. Ryuu simply stared at him and burst out laughing before he walked away. Ryuu didn't control the castle's magic; the castle controlled the castle's magic and because Dumbledore didn't realize that or refused to acknowledge that; the castle refused to listen to him. When Dumbledore had tried to give Ryuu detention until he turned over control Ryuu flat out refused and told him that he would never again serve a detention he didn't rightfully earn.

Ryuu then told the Headmaster that if he truly wanted the magic of the castle to listen to him again he should try listening to the magic instead. Before he walked away a second time, Ryuu also asked him when he'd finally honor his oath to tell him what he knew about Voldemort and how Voldemort survived what should have killed him. Dumbledore appeared to grow old before Ryuu's eyes and told him once the end of the year exams were over he'd turn over all of his research notes and an assortment of memories to Ryuu.

After that things pretty much settled down and the most exciting thing to happen to Ryuu was the time he spent with Luna and his family between his classes. He didn't get to see much of his father though as Takashi was busier than ever helping the students deal with the aftermath of everything Umbridge and the others had put them through. More than half the students were now seeing Takashi two and three times a week which meant that the now forty-year old man was busy from sunrise to curfew listening to the students and helping them work through everything that had happened and the nightmares that were a direct result.

Taki often helped with the younger children as she resumed her tutoring duties; listening to the first, second, and third year students pour out their hearts before encouraging them to seek out Takashi if they continued to have trouble. Ryuu in turn would help them both out by keeping an eye on Kenji throughout the day with Dobby watching over the tyke during those classes where the toddler could be accidentally harmed either by spells, creatures, or plants (Transfiguration, Defense – taught once again by Hatake since Umbridge was gone, Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology respectfully).

All too soon the end of year exams were just a few days away (the Ministry scheduling them one month earlier than usual due to the turmoil stirred up by Ryuu's presentation at the end of the January) and Ryuu prepared to take eleven O.W.L.s (one of which he'd never officially taken as a class) and five N.E.W.T.s. (All of the staff having worked hard to make certain the fifth and seventh years were ready for the grueling exams.) Once again all of his extra curricular classes were placed on hold as he spent every available second studying or helping his friends study. His actual testing schedule was just shy of insane as he seemingly had twice as many tests to take as everyone else and in a way he did.

Each morning he'd be taking two theoretical tests and one practical test and his afternoons were two for two in order to fit in both his O.W.L.s and his N.E.W.T.s. The examiners had been a bit skeptical about allowing a fifteen year old take even a limited number of N.E.W.T.s but they stopped making complaints after he finished taking his Defense N.E.W.T. (as recommended by Hatake) and not only succeeded in casting the standard required spells but several bonus spells that would give him the highest recorded Defense N.E.W.T. in over two hundred years.

While Ryuu was testing, his uncle and other private tutors were meeting and working out his summer schedule since he was only going to be taking a handful of regular summer classes at the Academy this year. Since he'd taken (and without a doubt passed) his N.E.W.T. in Defense they'd have him working towards his Defense Mastery for two hours each morning before he turned back two hours to attend his ju jitsu lessons with Hatake where he'd be working towards his third degree black belt. After breakfast he'd have an hour in Masters Level Enchantment followed by an hour spent with Headmaster Yamamoto continuing their strategy and political sessions and an hour's study period.

He'd then turn back another two hours in order to take his Masters Level French class with Luna before spending the second hour working on the mornings class assignments. After lunch he'd be working on Masters Level Warding (having skipped two levels due to his solid grasp of the basics and the ability he'd displayed over the course of the last two years when creating new wards) after which he'd head to the Samurai Training Grounds where he'd train with Ashikaga and the other Samurai on his sword work and Intermediate Level Battle Magic for three hours.

Once he returned to the campus he'd head to Masters Level Music where he was working towards his status as Master Bard (teaching or tutoring an hour a day in the Beginning Level Magic Class or working with those who were struggling with one of the Masters Level Music courses (summoning, elemental manipulation, illusions, or healing). When he finished with his last class, he'd turn back another two hours so he could have time to work on all of his assignments for the day or do research in the library. It would be yet another busy summer for Ryuu but with the war against the Dark Lord looming right around the corner they wanted to push him so he wouldn't be caught unprepared.

They had no doubt that Ryuu would rise to the challenge as he had in the past years when pushed to the edge of his limits. Takashi had expressed some concerns about them pushing him so much but in the end it had been Ryuu himself that talked his father into backing down; though the older wizards had no clue what he'd said to him. Luna never verbally opposed their plans for Ryuu but they could easily see how much it bothered her as her eyes clouded over whenever she heard them discussing his schedule. There were also times when she'd watch Ryuu with sadness in her eyes as if she could see the pain he tried to hide from everyone.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Arigatou – thank you  
>Hai – yes<br>Itai – ouch  
>Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal apology, usually used when one has seriously messed up and is apologizing to a stranger or a superior. I believe the literal translation is 'I have no excuse' and the deshita turns the phrase into the past tense. At least that is how I understood it.<br>Neko – cat  
>Nii – short for oniisanniisan (older brother) and is what Kenji calls Ryuu  
>Oji – uncle<br>Okaasan/kaasan – mother  
>Otousantousan – father  
>Otouto – brother<br>Urusai – shut up (rude)

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Ryuu drums up support to deal with Voldemort, corruption in the Ministry of Magic is unearthed, Dumbledore attempts to regain control, and Ravenclaw's Diadem seems to have a mind of its own… next chapter will be up in a couple of days as I've prepped six chapters for posting so I can get this story wrapped up to let me focus on my pokemon/hp crossover series. ~ Jenn  
><em>

**02/22/13:**_ Corrected a grammatical mistake in the chapter._


	44. Harsh Words and the Parting of Ways

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 43: Harsh Words and the Parting of Ways<span>*

_Hogwarts Castle, Scotland  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan<br>May 1996_

After supper on the day immediately after Ryuu's final test, Ryuu met with Dumbledore in the Headmaster's office along with Hatake, Takashi, and Moody. Flitwick was supposed to have joined them too but the Head of Ravenclaw still had one more exam to administer for the younger students. Under the supervision of the adults, Dumbledore passed Ryuu eight journals, fifty vials each containing between one and five memories each, six books, and over a hundred scrolls filled with close to forty years of research notes that Dumbledore had been compiling through the years.

Ryuu packed everything into his satchel, pulled out the blank book that would become his new war journal and a pen, and then glanced up at the Headmaster expectantly; waiting for the man to start speaking of what he knew about Voldemort. Ryuu could find the time to go through the research notes on his own time to confirm what Dumbledore told him and to learn the tiny details that the Headmaster would inevitably gloss over during the telling.

"Lord Voldemort was born as Tom Marvolo Riddle to Merope Gaunt on December thirty-first nineteen twenty-six," Dumbledore reluctantly began once it became apparent that he wasn't going to be allowed to draw things out.

Ryuu listened attentively, occasionally writing down the pertinent facts. He listened to the sad life of Merope Gaunt, her trickery in ensnaring a muggle named Tom Riddle, and how Tom Riddle junior had been orphaned by his mother and raised in an orphanage as his father didn't even know he existed. He learned of young Tom's penchant for bullying after discovering his magic, his tendency to collect trophies from his victims, and how he reacted when Dumbledore turned up to tell him he was a wizard.

Tom's years at Hogwarts were then discussed as were Tom's discovery of his heritage and the information of how he'd eventually located and murdered his father and grandparents. The news that Tom had been the one to originally open the Chamber of Secrets was no shock to Ryuu; he'd figured that out in his second year when he'd faced Tom's shade and the basilisk.

They were just starting to discuss Tom's activities in the two years immediately after Hogwarts when they were interrupted by a frantic call from the Ministry; Voldemort had just broken into the Ministry and was fighting his way to the Department of Mysteries to steal the prophecy. Dumbledore immediately began issuing orders to rouse the Order of the Phoenix (a group of witches and wizards dedicated to fighting against Voldemort that directly answered to Dumbledore). He then made to dismiss Ryuu only to draw up short when he saw Ryuu and the other three adults in the room smirking and chuckling.

"This is no laughing matter," Dumbledore intoned harshly as he glared at them over his glasses.

"I disagree," Ryuu cheekily countered as he bit off yet another bout of laughter. "Let him take the prophecy… it can only help us in the long run."

"If he learns what it says there will be nothing to stop him from coming after you!" Dumbledore protested angrily. "You are not ready to face him and he can't be killed yet!"

"He has been chasing after me for years already," Ryuu replied calmly, his mirth turning feral as he glanced up at Dumbledore with glittering green eyes that were as hard and cold as diamonds. "Voldemort learning the prophecy will not make him hate me any more than he already does, nor will it help him. You see… I didn't like your plan to just watch over the prophecy when I heard about it at the beginning of the year so I took matters into my own hands and swapped it out. Let him take the prophecy, Dumbledore-shishou, it will only make him doubt himself even more."

"What have you done?"

"I gave him something to think about with a little help from Trelawney-sensei," Ryuu quipped as his mirth returned and he snickered into his hands. "He will have greater things to worry about than little ole me."

"_What did you do!?_" Dumbledore roared in anger as he glared furiously at Ryuu.

"What you should have done the moment you knew Voldemort would go looking for the entire prophecy," Ryuu countered coldly as he matched the aged wizard glare for glare; his respect for the older wizard having taken a harsh beating over the past two years. "Go to the Ministry and fight him if you wish, capture as many of his Death Eaters as you can but do not stop him from taking the prophecy. I will not allow you to destroy this chance to make him question everything that has happened over the past five years and make him doubt his own followers."

"You would have him turn on those that follow him? You would condemn those men and woman to their deaths or worse?" Dumbledore demanded in shock as he dropped back down to his chair.

"They condemned themselves the moment they swore allegiance to Voldemort."

"They can be redeemed!" Dumbledore spat out in anger as he leaned forward and began glaring again.

"So you would consign hundreds of innocent lives to brutal deaths to save a handful of murders, rapists, and the worst sort of criminals?" Ryuu demanded right back as he stood up and allowed his own anger show. "You would rather have the blood of those same innocents on your hands than do your duty as Headmaster, Chief Warlock, and Supreme Mugwump? Are you so damn blind to those that are suffering that you'd allow it to continue just to save those who are beyond saving!? You'd willingly condemn an entire world to repeating this bloody damn cycle of prejudice in another twenty years by allowing those that propagate the bigotry and intolerance to continue teaching the next generation?"

"You don't understand; you are too young…" Dumbledore began heatedly only to be cut off by Ryuu.

"No… you don't understand… you refuse to look beyond the forest to see the trees. You don't see people you see pawns. If you can't even bother to care for the lives of those lost in your quest to save those who have sold their soul to the underworld, then it is past time you stepped aside and let those of us who are willing to fight to protect what is innocent and good do our jobs. This isn't a matter of those Death Eaters and Voldemort being a little misunderstood and needing a little reform… this is war; a war to protect our families, our friends, the innocents, and our very way of life. In war people die and when you fight a war, you fight it to win even if it means killing those that threaten you and yours; you don't stand back and allow children to die just so you can make your enemy see the error of their ways."

"So you would harden your heart and murder them in return? You would sink to their level? You would seek to turn yourself dark?"

Ryuu's wild magic slammed into the Headmaster with the speed of a striking snake, disarming the older wizard and flinging him across the room. The scar on his temple pulsed wildly in time to his racing heart as he easily caught Dumbledore's wand in his hand; his eyes far colder and far harder than they had been earlier as he seethed over Dumbledore's accusations.

"I will not allow you to condemn me and paint me as tarnished as you yourself feel over whatever haunts your past," Ryuu spat lowly as Shinjin hissed at the Headmaster from his shoulder. "I have murdered no one… not Quirrell, not the basilisk, not the dementors, not a single creature that sought my blood during that stupid tournament, not the Death Eater that Malfoy used as a shield, and not Umbridge. And yet they are dead and the world is a slightly better off without them."

"Can you not see that you are…?" Dumbledore implored as he pushed himself up onto his feet.

"No… you do not see," Hatake cut in before Ryuu could say anything else. "You are accusing Ryuu-kun of things he would never do while you try to convince him that those who are the true problem are more important than the innocents whose lives are at risk. All in the name of redeeming them so that you look good in the eyes of the public."

"If that is what he truly believes than there is nothing we can do to change his mind," Ryuu stated tightly as he glanced down at the wand in his hand with a puzzled expression on his face. "And this wand will never again sing for you in battle. I trust you have left nothing out of the notes you have given me because you will not have another chance to fulfill your oath and if you break your oath you will lose your magic."

"I will not discuss anything further with you until you see what you are doing is wrong; now give me back my wand," Dumbledore ordered as he held out his hand.

"It is no longer your wand," Ryuu replied absently as he slipped it into his pocket and looked up to meet the Headmaster's gaze; the diadem once again slipping him knowledge that he hadn't asked for. "The wand now belongs to me because you are no longer strong enough to protect it. I hope, for your sake, that you have left nothing out because this is the last time I will step foot in this castle as a student so long as you are Headmaster."

"You have two more years of classes," Dumbledore pointed out with a scowl and more than a little smugness.

"And I have a standing invitation to attend Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu that I can and will accept in order to finish those two years," Ryuu replied as he turned away from Dumbledore and started leaving the office. He paused with his hand on the door and glanced back over his shoulder, "And Dumbledore, if Voldemort learns that the prophecy he is stealing is a fake or if he is not allowed to steal the prophecy I will see to it that the history books remember you as the worst Dark Lord in the past two hundred years and that Voldemort is seen as nothing more than your tool… and I will see to it you are… what was the word the prophecy used? Oh yes… vanquished."

Ryuu slipped out of the room as Dumbledore sank back down onto his knees and covered his face with his hands. Takashi spat on the floor in front of the Headmaster, the forty year old pissed at the way his son had just been treated, before he chased after Ryuu to make certain he was alright. Moody and Hatake exchanged a look and the two of them silently agreed to wait and see what Dumbledore would do. When the second call came from the Floo for help in the Ministry, Moody slipped away to deal with it and see to it that Ryuu's prophecy ended up in Voldemort's possession while Hatake continued to watch over the Headmaster.

Takashi caught up with Ryuu just outside the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office; the teen kneeling on the floor with his face in his hands in an eerie mimicry of the Headmaster that had a shiver tracing up Takashi's spine. As he crouched down beside his oldest son and placed his hand on his back, Takashi noted that Ryuu had thrown up on the floor in front of him and that the teen was trembling.

"He would spare murderers like Malfoy… he would have pleaded for leniency for Umbridge despite the fact that she would gladly harm children just to get what she wants. He… he said I was going dark… Why, tousan? Why?" Ryuu choked out as he lifted his face from his hands and revealed tormented green eyes swimming with unshed tears. "Why doesn't he care about those that suffer? Why is it so important that those who harm others are allowed to walk free while the rest of the world weeps tears of blood? Why is it wrong of me to wish to stop those who are causing that suffering?"

"I don't know, son," Takashi murmured sadly, his heart breaking for the latest burden that had been placed on his son's shoulders. "I do know he is wrong. It is not wrong to want to make people see that they are wrong but he is wrong to allow them to continue harming others just so that they may be saved. And you are not dark… not so long as you continue fighting for those who can't protect themselves. So long as you remember that the burden of taking another life in the course of war is a heavy burden to bear and you take no pleasure in hurting others."

"I can't stay here any longer, tousan," Ryuu rasped as he pulled out his cherry wand and used it to clean up the mess he'd made when he was sick earlier. "I get sick just thinking about… I can't… I just want to go home."

"Then we will go," Takashi promised as he helped Ryuu to his feet. "Go pack your things and meet me in the dojo in two hours and we will use the portal. I'll let your mother know."

"May… may I invite the others?"

"Of course you may but keep in mind that some of them might not be able to leave today since they will need to obtain their parents' or guardians' permission. They are welcome at our house any time though; you know that."

"Arigatou, tousan," Ryuu murmured as he impulsively hugged his father tightly before he vanished into a secret passage that appeared from out of nowhere.

"Anything for you, son, anything," Takashi whispered to the air as he stared at the now blank section of wall where Ryuu had disappeared.

Sighing, Takashi glanced down at his watch to check the time before he headed towards the quarters he shared with his wife and youngest son. Taki would not be happy when she learned what had happened and she would be sad to leave the castle early; she'd grown fond of the children she'd been tutoring for the past couple of years. She would also not hesitate to do what she could to help Ryuu keep his spirits up in the face of this latest blow to his confidence.

Shaking his head and shoving his unpleasant thoughts to the back of his mind, Takashi picked up his pace as he approached the entrance to his rooms; there was much to be done if he was going to meet Ryuu as promised.

Ryuu exited the secret passage and found himself standing right outside of his quarters on the third floor. He'd been one of the few students to not return to his dorm in the Ravenclaw tower. Not because he thought himself better or that he thought he deserved to have private rooms but because he was still taking care of one hundred and eight immature wild phoenixes and he seriously doubted that his dorm mates really wanted to put up with the racket they made when they started signing discordant songs or crying for food.

Thanking the castle for delivering him to his rooms, Ryuu stepped inside and headed straight for his bedroom where he methodically began gathering up his things and piling them up on his bed. From the various perches all around the room, many of them stuck to the walls to save room, over a hundred pairs of obsidian eyes watched him with undisguised curiosity.

It took Ryuu nearly an hour to collect everything he had spread through out the three room suite (bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room) and pack it all away in his magically expanded trunk. He'd also sent messages off to his friends letting them know he was leaving shortly and that they were invited to join him at any time. He was just turning his attention to the half-grown phoenixes that were watching him when his small apartment was invaded by close to twenty individuals. Ryuu sighed and told the wild birds that he'd be back in a moment before he stepped out in the living room to find the majority of those he'd befriended through the years standing with their trunks in hand along with his girlfriend who was watching him intently.

"When're we leaving Special Lieutenant Colonel Natsume?" Fred cheekily asked as he jauntily saluted Ryuu with his wand.

"We're awaiting our orders, boss," George added as he too saluted the fifteen year old.

"Not that it will make one wit of difference or make us change our minds," Cedric began. "But why the sudden rush to leave?"

"What happened, Ryuu? Last I knew you and your father were meeting with Dumbledore-shishou for research and whatnot," Satoshi added as he took in the practically bare sitting room (Ryuu's personal effects already removed).

Ryuu bowed his head for a moment trying to decide just how much to tell them and sighed when he realized he could tell them no less than the entire truth least Dumbledore try to twist it around on him later in order to turn his friends against him. When he looked back up more than one of his friends stood up straighter as they immediately took notice of the intense emotions in Ryuu's eyes.

"I will not lie nor will I sugar coat the truth to make it easier to swallow," Ryuu began softly, his voice hard as steel but no where near as cold as it had been when he last addressed the Headmaster of Hogwarts. "You have all earned my trust, respect, and friendship and you deserve to know what happened and what will happen. I am leaving Hogwarts early because I am leaving Hogwarts entirely. I will not be returning to this castle as a student so long as Dumbledore is the Headmaster."

More than one of the students blinked or gaped in shock over that announcement, nearly every one of them confused over the unexpected declaration. Ryuu grimaced as he reached up to run a hand through his hair, tangling his fingers at the back of his head as he tried to find the right words to explain without making it look like he was painting the Headmaster as a villain.

"There are some things I can't reveal at the moment because it is sensitive and classified information and the more people who hear it the more of a chance there is that it will get back to the wrong people. I know that you are all aware that I have a part to play in the war against Voldemort…" More than one of the British born magicals flinched at hearing the name but they remained quiet and attentive. "…as I have not made any attempt to hide the fact that I am preparing for war from you over this past year. More over, Dumbledore is fully aware of what I must face and he has made no secret of the fact that he has always wanted me to be kept ignorant of what I will have to face; grooming me personally to be a sacrificial lamb. My father, Hatake-oji, and many others have fought him every step of the way to insure that did not happen."

Ryuu paused again and noted that while most of those gathered were frowning none of them appeared skeptical or disbelieving so far and he took heart that it meant they would not in turn believe him to be going dark like Dumbledore was implying he was. Taking a deep breath, Ryuu let his shoulders sag a bit as the pain of that accusation shot through him again and he had to close his eyes for a moment before he could continue.

When he did, his voice was soft and weary; "Earlier this evening Voldemort and his forces were reported to be attacking the Ministry in hopes of stealing something from the Department of Mysteries. Something I removed back at the beginning of the year to prevent it from falling into Voldemort's hands and at the same time I replaced it with a fake that would hopefully weaken Voldemort's forces."

Eyes widened and the Weasley twins actually smirked as they glanced at each other. Ryuu briefly smiled as he knew they appreciated the mere thought of pranking the Dark Lord. His smile vanished as he continued, "When I told Dumbledore to allow Voldemort to take what he was after and why he should allow it… Dumbledore… he grew angry." Ryuu glanced down to hide his own anger as his voice turned cold and brittle as he revealed exactly what Dumbledore thought of his plan.

"Instead of rejoicing over the idea of getting one over on the Dark Lord and seeing the benefits of making the Dark Lord turn on his followers he berated me and accused me of being just as bad if not worse than the Death Eaters; going so far as to call me a murderer. He told me I was going dark because I would not believe that those that follow Voldemort should be given a hundred second chances so that they could be redeemed or reformed."

"I'll gut the bearded berk where he stands," Luna uncharacteristically growled in anger as she stalked towards the door with her wand in hand. "My Dragon is not and will never be dark and I'll not stand for the bloody bearded bugger to hurt you any more."

"Luna, he's not worth it," Ryuu stated, making Luna stop in her tracks as she glanced over her shoulder at him with her blue eyes glittering with pure fury. "I disarmed him and severed ties with him. He'll not be able to hurt me and by the time he thinks to spread tales of my apparent growing 'darkness' I will already have addressed my international advisors to warn them. I will gladly share the memory with you later if you wish. Please, my beautiful moon, don't leave me without your light over an old wizard fast approaching the end of his life."

Luna was clinging to Ryuu a moment later, her tears soaking through his robes as he held her tightly and ran his fingers through her hair. As he comforted his girlfriend he took in the looks of outrage on the faces of his former captains and wondered if they all felt the same as Luna or if they were angry over the fact that Ryuu was suggesting that Dumbledore was not quite as light as they'd always believed.

"Did you at least punch him once in the nose for the audacity of accusing you of such nonsense?" Satoshi growled tightly as he clenched his fists.

"No… but I did fling him across his office with wild magic and kept his wand when I realized it bonded to my magic the moment I touched it," Ryuu replied with a half grin. "I also might have threatened to uh… rewrite the history books to paint him as the worst dark lord in the past two hundred years if he gets in my way or interferes with the fake weapon that I left for him in the Ministry; linking him to Voldemort since I know that Dumbledore knew that Voldemort was on the rise for a good fifteen or twenty years before he actually began attacking the wizarding world in the late sixties."

"What!? Are you saying Dumbledore allowed or possibly helped Voldemort rise to power during the first war?" Hermione gasped out half in fear and half in anger. "That if he'd have taken out the Dark Lord in the beginning there never would have been a war to begin with?"

"No… not exactly… but at the same time if he did anything to try and stop him at the time, I haven't been told about it yet. There is a possibility that he tried to convince the Ministry at the time to end the threat and he wasn't believed but as I said I don't know what he did. All I know is that Dumbledore has been researching Voldemort's entire life for around forty years. I'd have to read through the notes and journals he gave me to find out more."

"He gave you all of his research?" Cedric asked in astonishment. "Headmaster Dumbledore never shares the knowledge he's gathered; my dad told me years ago to always be skeptical of what Dumbledore tells you because chances are he's left out half of what you should know and candy coated the other half so it is only vaguely recognized as the truth. Not that my dad thought Dumbledore was dark or anything just that he didn't like sharing what he knows."

"He was oath bound to share what he knows about Voldemort," Ryuu quietly admitted as he buried his nose in Luna's hair now that he noticed she was no longer crying. "He has until the end of this academic year to pass along all of his notes and information regarding Voldemort and his Death Eaters or he would be stripped of his magic. I don't know whether or not he honored that oath fully today but he did supposedly give me copies of everything he had including quite a few memories he's collected. He was in the middle of giving us a verbal summary when we learned of the raid on the Ministry."

"Ryuu-kun, your father told me to…" Hatake announced as he stepped into the room unannounced only to drift off as he took in just who had gathered and how many of them had trunks in their hands or by their feet. "Whoa didn't realize you were holding a war council already. Anyway, Takashi's ready to leave whenever you are; he had Dobby clear out the dojo already and the rest of the elves are stripping everything that belongs to the Student Protestors from the third floor and taking it down to the Chamber."

"Not a war council, oji, just letting them know I was leaving and why," Ryuu corrected as he lifted his face just enough to meet Hatake's gaze. "They've also been invited to come with us and from what I can tell the majority of them have decided to accept."

"Most of us are seventeen and don't need parental permission," Lee announced with a grin. "We go where our boss goes. We did take the time to send off a bunch of letters letting them know we made other plans for the summer and to not expect us when the Express pulls into King's Cross on the day the rest of the students go home."

"The rest of us sent off letters as well since we'd already made plans to spend the summer in Japan again this year," Hermione added with a small nod. "We're just going a few weeks earlier then planned and I know my parents won't mind because they'll see me when they land in Tokyo."

"Gran will be a little upset that I didn't wait around to take the train but she will be furious when she hears about Dumbledore accusing you of going dark," Neville stated simply as he shrugged.

"Arigatou," Ryuu murmured with a small smile.

"Anything any of you have left that needs to be done?" Hatake asked as he glanced around the room.

"I just need to find out what I'm going to do with all of the phoenixes I'm still watching over," Ryuu admitted as he lifted his face the rest of the way out of Luna's hair. "Everything else is packed and ready to go."

"Dobby be having the elves move the many birdies to the garden in Japan, Master Ryuu-sama," Dobby declared as he popped into the room in order to let Ryuu know the problem had already been dealt with. "Dobby will be taking everyone's luggage now." The elf snapped his thumb and all of the trunks in the room, and Ryuu's from the bedroom, vanished in an instant just before the elf disappeared as well.

"I think that means we're ready to go now," Ryuu pointed out with a shake of his head over the eagerness of the house elf that had bonded to him years earlier.

"Everyone down to the dojo then," Hatake ordered as he pulled the door open once more.

Ryuu watched them go as he continued to hold Luna. Once it was just the three of them, his uncle watching him from the door, Ryuu reached up and lifted Luna's chin so he could give her a tender smile and a gentle kiss. He then murmured softly, for her ears only, "Arigatou, Luna, for believing in me and for staying with me."

"I told you last year that you couldn't get rid of me that easily," Luna whispered in reply as she stood on her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around Ryuu's neck, pulling him close once more. "I just can't stand the thought of anyone hurting you anymore. You're always getting hurt."

"Oh, sweetheart," Ryuu cried softly into her hair as he lifted her off her feet and pulled her closer. "The only thing that could truly hurt me is if something happened to you or my family and friends. Physical pain only hurts for a brief moment… true pain, pain that tears at the heart and destroys the mind… true pain is what one feels when those we love are torn from us through violence. I would raze this world to the ground in a heartbeat without an ounce of regret in order to protect you or destroy those that dared harm you."

Hatake silently watched the two teens, listening to their declarations and he felt his heart stop for a brief moment when Ryuu spoke of razing the world. He knew Ryuu was perfectly capable of destroying the world if he chose to and the knowledge that he'd helped turn the once shy and frightened child into the powerful wizard warrior he was fast becoming filled him with pride and fear. He was proud because Ryuu had become strong and frightened because Ryuu could potentially do far more damage than any five of the last dark wizards or witches in the past century.

He didn't fear Ryuu going dark, he honestly didn't think the teen had a dark bone in his body; no… he feared Ryuu would lose himself to his rage should someone harm his family.

There were three incidents in particular that stood out in his mind; the night of the final dementor attack at the end of his third year and the rage he felt when Ryuu cast the patronus that destroyed the dementors, the night of the fourth task when Ryuu returned and unleashed his magic in his grief over Shogun's death, and the night Umbridge had forced Luna to use a blood quill. Each of those instances showed but a fraction of what Ryuu was capable of and that in his anger he wasn't afraid to shatter the laws of magic in order to protect his loved ones (or mourn them in Shogun's case).

In the time it took Hatake to restart his heart and review those few memories, Ryuu had lowered his face and taken Luna's mouth with his in a kiss not unlike the one Ryuu had taken after he'd beaten Bane the centaur in hand to hand combat for the third task of the tournament the year before. The older wizard was almost embarrassed to be watching what seemed to be a far too intimate moment between a fifteen year old and a fourteen year old (well technically Ryuu was nearly sixteen and Luna just about fifteen year old).

Averting his eyes and fighting the slight blush that tinted his cheeks, Hatake waited for his unofficial nephew to come back down to earth. When after a few minutes that didn't seem to be happening, Hatake coughed and cleared his throat before offering to hose them down again. The older wizard then snickered as the two teen practically apparated apart at the mere mention of water.

* * *

><p>Ryuu stumbled as he stepped out of the portal onto the outer grounds of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, the buzz of the wards ten times stronger than they had been the first time he'd stepped onto the grounds. He just barely managed to remain on his feet this time and he wondered why the wards affected him so much more then they usually did when he'd been passing through the portal without any problems for years (only that very first time affecting as much as this latest time). Shaking his head, he stepped away from the still open portal and shook off the last of the strange feeling clinging to him as he unconsciously stuffed his hand into his robe pocket and palmed the handle of the wand he'd taken from the Headmaster.<p>

A moment later, his father stepped through the portal with Kenji in his arms followed by his mother, his girlfriend, and his uncle. Shortly after that the portal blanked out and Ryuu knew that the door in the dojo had just been disconnected and would be transferred to the Potter Cottage in Hogsmeade as his uncle had requested. The second portal leading to the Chamber of Secrets would also be moved to the Potter Cottage so that no one could slip into the Chamber and mess with all of the supplies and equipment that had been stored down there. All of the exchange students that had been attending Hogwarts that year had opted to leave early as well so there was no danger of any of them being stranded in Scotland and the two instructors that had opted to stay until the end of term (Mori and Kimura) had alternatives means of getting home.

"Turn the glow off, kiddo," Hatake barked as he glanced over at Ryuu and noticed the scar on his temple glowing slightly.

"Huh?" Ryuu asked in confusion as he turned to give Hatake a puzzled look.

"You're channeling," Hatake replied as he tapped his temple.

"No I'm not," Ryuu countered as he frowned and took stock of his body's magic while at the same time pulling his hand out of his pocket and away from the wand. "Nothing…"

"Well something was obviously affecting you," Takashi pointed out as he too had seen the soft glow. "What were you thinking about just now?"

"I was wondering why the wards of the academy were acting up a bit as it felt like a strong wave of magic hit me the moment I stepped through the portal, enough to make me stumble. They haven't affected me that bad since the first time I stepped onto the grounds my first summer."

"Yamamoto-shishou might have upgraded the wards," Hatake suggested as they began heading towards the stone stairs leading up to the castle; the rest of those who'd crossed with them already halfway there. "We can mention it to him when we discuss the coming summer session and your transfer to the Academy; unless you are having second thoughts?"

"No second thoughts," Ryuu replied curtly without any hesitation. "And while I would have preferred to stay here in the first place; I'm glad that I at least gave Hogwarts a chance because I made a few good friends and discovered the beauty that is the Moon."

Luna blushed prettily at the not so subtle compliment as she slipped her hand into Ryuu's as they slowly crossed the grounds. Ryuu couldn't help but lift her hand to press a kiss to her knuckles before tucking her hand in the crook of his elbow, enjoying the way he could feel the warmth of her body next to his as they walked in perfect sync with each other. On their shoulders, the two kneazles purred in contentment while Shinjin just twittered in amusement and groomed Ryuu's hair with her beak. _If only moments like these could last forever,_ Ryuu thought to himself as Luna sighed happily and leaned her head on Ryuu's shoulder.

All too soon Ryuu was standing in Yamamoto's office with his immediate family (Luna had gone to spend some time with her friends that had left on November first and not returned due to the trouble with Umbridge). In the small hand thrown clay tea cup sitting on the Headmaster's desk was Ryuu's memory of the fiasco that his earlier meeting with Headmaster Dumbledore had deteriorated into once they'd received news that Voldemort had attempted to sneak into the Ministry. Said memory was currently playing out above the miniature pensieve in startling clarity in nearly life-size proportions.

Ryuu's eyes were focused on a point just behind Yamamoto's desk, his jaw clenched tightly as he fought to keep his temper under control and his ears ringing with the effort to ignore the harsh words that Dumbledore had directed at him. He remained slightly on edge even after the memory ceased playing and the images sank back into the pensieve.

"I am disappointed, Natsume-kun," Yamamoto began in a tone that was both filled with disappointment and repressed anger.

Ryuu flinched back as if he'd been struck; having never before had that tone directed at him before and he bowed deeply as he murmured out a submissive but respectful, "Moushiwake arimasen deshita."

"You misunderstand me, child," Yamamoto gently chided. "I am not angry or disappointed in you and you have nothing for which to apologize. I am angry and disappointed in our Supreme Mugwump; that he would say such things to you, of all people, after all of the things you have been put through since you first started attending his school is beyond the pale (as the English say). You acted well within your rights and while you allowed your anger to get the better of you, you didn't allow it to completely consume you."

Ryuu started again as he jerked upright before he blushed and nodded sheepishly as he nervously shifted before he took a couple of calming breaths to settle his nerves. Once he was back under control, Ryuu bowed a second time and murmured a soft thank you.

"Now that we have cleared the air," Yamamoto declared he leaned back in his chair, steepled his fingers, and tapped his index fingers against his lips as he studied Ryuu intently. "I have to ask you if you are certain you wish to follow through with the… declaration… you gave to Dumbledore regarding your final two years of schooling and before you answer think carefully, because if you choose to attend Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, I can guarantee that it will be no walk in the park."

"I am certain, shishou," Ryuu replied softly without hesitation. "I can't afford to fight this war on two fronts and if I return to Hogwarts I will be fighting Dumbledore and his ideals as well as fighting against Voldemort and whatever he may attempt to throw at the world in his efforts to take control of Magical Britain."

"Wakaru, Natsume-kun," Yamamoto replied with a nod. "I will expect you to put forth your usual effort in your classes and extra lessons and I will make arrangements with Ashikaga about stepping up your training. There are a few other classes I would like you to take as I think they will help you in the long run; one of which is a Basic Healing course since you've already proven efficient with your Shaman Rituals not to mention the unique ability you posses to pull the dark magic from a wound. We will also need to make arrangements to speak with the International Advisory Council regarding Dumbledore's machinations and warn them that he may attempt to tarnish your name and reputation."

"Iie, he won't," Hatake refuted quietly. "His oaths will not allow him to do so. The only reason he was able to say what he said to Ryuu earlier this evening is because everyone there to witness the debacle were sworn to help and protect Ryuu. He was also… not exactly broken but he was greatly shaken by what happened and I seriously doubt he will recover from it any time soon. We should still advise the Council but I think it more just to let them know why Hogwarts will no longer be a viable location to hold future meetings."

Yamamoto was just about to make a reply when a silvery wolverine slipped into the office and trundled right up to Ryuu. Recognizing Moody's patronus, Ryuu knelt down and ran his hand over the ethereal creature's back and froze as he saw the memory that Moody had sent him (the grizzled old ex-Auror fully aware that Ryuu could read the memories used to create a patronus). As he watched the unfolding memory of Moody entering the fray at the Ministry, Ryuu couldn't help but worry for those witches and wizards he knew.

When he reached the part where he saw Voldemort snagging the prophecy from the shelf (Moody had surprisingly managed to still arrive before the Dark Lord had reached the Department of Mysteries despite the delay in heading off to the Ministry) Ryuu crowed triumphantly. The memory then ended as the Dark Lord apparated right out of the Ministry and Ryuu couldn't help but laugh as he pulled his hand away from the patronus.

"The mission was a complete success," Moody's gravely voice declared now that Ryuu was no longer touching it. "There were only two fatalities on our side, the two security guards on duty when Voldemort arrived, and a few serious injuries that will be healed in a few days. Six Death Eaters were captured and three died during the fighting."

Ryuu sobered immediately when he heard the news that people had died and been hurt and he sat up as the wolverine nodded at him before vanishing. Sighing, Ryuu dropped his head onto his knees for a moment to pray for the souls of those lost and for the family that they left behind. The teen then climbed to his feet and stuffed his hands back in his pockets, shoulders slumped with sadness and guilt, his left hand once again curling around the wand he'd taken from Dumbledore.

"Natsume-kun, please calm down, you are not to blame for the deaths of the guards; you were not the one who fired the curses that killed them," Yamamoto ordered gently. "Bring your magic under control, please."

Ryuu started as he tilted his head to the side and furrowed his brow. He still felt no draw on his magic, just the slight tug of his patronus as the silvery memory of Shogun sat on Nyanko-sensei's back. Closing his eyes so he could look inwards, he searched deeper to see if he was missing something but still didn't sense any hint of his magic escaping his control. Opening his eyes once more, he meet Yamamoto's stern gaze with confused green orbs as he stated, "My magic is not out of my control, shishou."

"That's the second time you've said that when you scar has been glowing tonight," Hatake commented as he pursed his lips and studied Ryuu.

Ryuu simply shrugged as he had no clue what he was doing or why his scar was reacting the way it was. He knew it usually only reacted when he was actively channeling magic or when his emotions got the best of him. Feeling self-conscious, he pulled his hands from his pockets and crossed them over his chest while the adults arched their brows in surprise as the moment he let go of the wand the glow stopped (not that they knew he was holding the wand).

"What did you just do?" Takashi asked curiously.

"Nothing, tousan, I just pulled my hands out of my pockets," Ryuu replied while giving his father a look that clearly questioned his father's sanity.

"Just out of idle curiosity," Yamamoto began. "What exactly do you have in your pockets?"

"Nothing… except the wand I took from Dumbledore-san," Ryuu replied with a shrug.

"May I see the wand?"

Nodding in confirmation, to both questions, Ryuu reached his left hand into his pocket and withdrew the wand, the adults curiously noting that Ryuu's scar had once again began glowing as he removed the wand and held it out handle first to the older wizard. Once he released the wand his scar stopped glowing once again.

"The wand? Curious… curious indeed," Yamamoto murmured as he studied the wand in his hand. He gave it a flick, intending to conjure a small flock of birds only to blink in shock when nothing happened. A second flick to light the tip of the wand produced the same lack of results. "That is odd… I've never known a wand to not respond to simple spells regardless of who was wielding it. Natsume-kun, could you please humor an old man and conjure something simple with this wand please?"

Taking the wand back, which immediately set his scar glowing yet again, Ryuu barely flicked the wand when it produced hundreds of large, metallic blue swallowtail butterflies that fluttered about the office before landing all around and on Ryuu and the others. Yamamoto carefully pulled out his own wand and tried to cancel the spell only to find that the butterflies refused to be returned from wherever it was that Ryuu had conjured them from.

"Natsume-kun, could you please cancel the spell now?"

Ryuu blinked and attempted to use the same spell that the headmaster had only to blink in surprise when they didn't budge. Tilting his head to the side in curiosity, Ryuu tried again only to end up with the same exact result. Glancing down at the wand in his hand, Ryuu tried to remember what he'd been thinking about when he conjured the butterflies and smiled softly when he realized he'd been thinking about Luna and her delicate beauty that he found so entrancing.

Blushing lightly, he realized that he would not be able to dispel the butterflies because in his mind nothing could diminish Luna's beauty. Knowing that, Ryuu flicked his wand to open the window in the Headmaster's office and watched as the butterflies rose in a cloud and swooped out of the office in a steady stream until there was just a half dozen left clinging to him, his mother, and his brother.

"Most curious, most curious indeed," Yamamoto murmured as he glanced between the lingering butterflies and Ryuu who was currently staring down at the wand in his hand. "At least we know that the wand is in perfect working order and that it somehow causes a reaction in your scar. We can explore that most interesting bond another time though so you may go ahead and put it away. And could you please explain what you found so amusing when you interacted with the patronus?"

"Hai," Ryuu automatically replied as he tucked the wand back in his pocket before he answered the question as requested. "I was laughing because Voldemort took the bait; Moody actually saw him take the fake prophecy and disappear with it, which ended the battle as the Death Eaters fled shortly after as well. I'll have to find out what Dobby did with the receiver for the monitoring charms on the fake, so we can view his reaction to the false prophecy. As amusing as it is to know he fell for the trap the others helped me set up; I can't help but feel guilty that those two guards lost their lives. I know I am not responsible for their deaths but that doesn't make it any easier to accept that they died while Voldemort was seeking the bait I placed for him."

"And if you had not placed the 'bait in the trap' would Voldemort still have gone to the Ministry to steal the real 'bait'?" Yamamoto asked seriously as he studied Ryuu closely.

"Yes, he would have. Like I said, I know it isn't my fault… it's just that I can't help but think of those two guards and the family they left behind to grieve for their deaths. It is not right that their families will suffer such heartache because of a monster that left his humanity behind."

"I understand," Yamamoto murmured. "Can you please tell me more about the false prophecy you left for Voldemort?"

"Tousan? Oji?" Ryuu asked as he glanced over at the two men, his eyes flicking slightly to his mother who was holding his little brother who in turn was giggling over the butterflies still clinging to the pair.

"Taki love, why don't you take Kenji to the kitchen and see if one of the elves could get him a small snack and show you to a place where he can take a short nap to help him adjust to the time change?" Takashi suggested.

"You wouldn't be trying to get rid of me now, Takashi dear, would you?" Taki asked sweetly as she arched an eyebrow at her husband before canting her eyes to the side to see Ryuu's guilty expression. She sighed, knowing her adopted son was just trying to spare her from the darker aspects of the magical side of his life. "I expect a full accounting later, dearest, or you and I will be having a reckoning. And Ryuu-kun, I think the two of us need to sit down and discuss your insistence on protecting me while at the same time leaving me to worry over what trouble you will stumble onto next."

"Hai, kaasan," Ryuu meekly replied as he blushed and glanced away from his mother.

"She took that better than I expected," Hatake mused as he glanced at Ryuu and Takashi.

"She's angry…" Ryuu muttered. "I just don't want her to worry even more or worse get hurt because of me."

"Your mother just doesn't like being left out and she feels like you're pulling away from her lately," Takashi stated cautiously so as not to make Ryuu feel any guiltier. "As she said, she worries about you."

Ryuu nodded then turned his attention back to Yamamoto as he pulled his mostly blank war journal from his pocket and wrote down both the original prophecy and the fake prophecy. He then glanced at his father and uncle once more and when they both nodded, indicating their permission, Ryuu passed the journal to the headmaster as he began explaining.

"There was a prophecy given before I was born indicating that the one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord would soon be born. The prophecy was given in the presence of Dumbledore-san by the Divination instructor at Hogwarts, which is the reason she was hired, and partially overheard by a Death Eater (Dumbledore never did tell us if he knew who that was) who in turn told Voldemort what he'd learned. The Dark Lord decided that I was the one the prophecy spoke of and he sought to kill me before I could become a threat. I know you are aware of what happened at that point so I will skip to earlier this year."

"On my first night back at Hogwarts at the beginning of this year, oji mentioned that Dumbledore believed Voldemort would seek to learn the entire prophecy and instead of taking more permanent measures to prevent him from taking the prophecy, Dumbledore had some of the people in his Order of the Phoenix guard the prophecy each night. I thought that beyond foolish and came up with a plan to both prevent Voldemort from getting the real prophecy and planting a fake prophecy that would make the Dark Lord doubt himself and those who followed him. I had help from a small handful of adults to create both the fake prophecy and in pulling the switch with out letting anyone know we planted the fake. Earlier tonight, Voldemort took the bait and now all that remains is to see whether or not he will react the way we hope he will. What you have in your hands is the wording of the original prophecy and the twisted verses I wrote to replace the second half."

Yamamoto glanced down to read the two verses and his eyes bugged out when he read exactly what Ryuu had substituted the second half of the original prophecy with. He then began chuckling softly for a few minutes until he was roaring with laughter much as Ryuu had earlier when he'd first seen Voldemort take the fake orb.

"You wrote that… you intend for him to… I can't believe you actually…" Yamamoto gasped between laughs as tears of mirth poured down his face. "If this works… you do realize you might have just started the beginning of the end for the Dark Lord, ne?" The headmaster immediately stopped laughing as he glanced up sharply to study Ryuu. "You wrote this yourself, correct? The entire false prophecy, ne? (Ryuu nodded) So, this prophecy could be said to be written by your hand. This could easily fall under the portion of the true prophecy where it speaks of the need for either of you to die by the hand of the other. Were you aware of that?"

"It could… but it is not," Ryuu replied softly as he glanced off into the distance as Ravenclaw's diadem once again automatically supplied him with the information he sought. "I've already started killing him one soul fragment at a time. The first one I wounded once when he attacked me as an infant. I wounded it further when he attacked me in my first year. I killed his largest soul fragment when I destroyed the diary in the Chamber of Secrets in my second year."

"Shogun and Shinjin killed another soul fragment when they killed Voldemort's snake in the graveyard. Finally, I striped the magic and vanquished a third fragment when I pulled the dark magic and the soul fragment from Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem. There are five more fragments out there; the fragment I have twice wounded which is bound to the construct body Voldemort gained the night of the third task, a fragment that was severed when I wounded him as a child, and three more fragments that are bound to objects and are hidden out there somewhere."

"Soul fragments? He made a horcrux? He made _multiple_ horcruxes?" Yamamoto demanded in shock as his face went bone white with fear and disgust.

"Horcrux? Is that what they are called? Dumbledore had not mentioned that word before… if there is no mention of it in his research notes he may well yet lose his magic. What exactly is a horcrux? What does it do?" Ryuu asked as he tilted his head to the side and focused his headmaster with a piercing gaze only to blanch back in fear and drop to his knees feeling sick to his stomach as the diadem supplied the answer in full detail; complete with details on how one is made and why someone would desire to make one.

"How could someone do that? Why would someone do such a horrible thing? How in the hell are we supposed to find those that remain? Where would you even begin to…?" Ryuu asked tremulously as he glanced up at the adults with haunted eyes as he broke off the last question when the diadem supplied an answer once again.

Ryuu then reached one trembling hand up to brush against the scar on his temple before he let out a keening whimper as his mind shattered over the horrifying revelation that the diadem had just made. Unable to acknowledge the truth, or even consider what he'd just been told could be true, Ryuu's consciousness fled into the depths of his mindscape to escape the horror.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Itai – ouch  
>Moushiwake arimasen deshita – A very formal apology, usually used when one has seriously messed up and is apologizing to a stranger or a superior. I believe the literal translation is 'I have no excuse' and the deshita turns the phrase into the past tense. At least that is how I understood it.<p>

**Notes:**

*Titles of this chapter is partially inspired by the title of chapter 36 of HP & the Goblet of Fire; The Parting of the Ways (in which Dumbledore and Fudge have their falling out over Voldemort's rebirth); I thought it appropriate. I also wanted to say that Dumbledore is not evil… he's just old, set in his ways, and under the firm belief that he knows best; especially when he sees Ryuu as nothing more than a child still.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _A bit of a cliffy, I know, but the next chapter will be up soon. Ryuu's reaction at the end might seem a bit too much but I always thought that JKR had Harry take the revelation that he was a horcrux and had to die in stride too easily. But that's just me. Anyway, next chapter will be up in a day or two. ~ Jenn_


	45. That Which Should Never Be

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 44: That Which Should Never Be<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan  
>Late May 1996<em>

"Ryuu!" Takashi barked as he dropped to the floor beside his now partially unconscious son, scooping the teen up before he tumbled face first into the floor.

"_Rennervate_," Hatake intoned as he pulled out his wand; only to frown when the spell had no effect on the teen. Twice more he repeated the spell; each time getting the same results. "Kuso."

"He's not exactly unconscious," Takashi announced as he cradled Ryuu across his lap and noted the slightly glassy look in the teen's half open eyes. "That's the same look he used to get on his face he when he was practicing his animal form at the beginning of his fourth year. I recognize it from the few times I'd find him in a trance in his rooms or if he'd want to avoid all of the stress of dealing with the tournament that year."

"He fled? He didn't faint?" Hatake muttered with a frown as he looked close enough to see what Takashi had seen. "What could have driven him…?"

"Take him to the infirmary, Hatake," Yamamoto instructed as he sent off a message to Inoue to make certain the healer was in the infirmary and knew the basics of what just happened.

Takashi rose to his feet, Ryuu still cradled in his arms, silently refusing to be parted from his son as he looked to the older man to lead the way. It didn't take long for their small group to reach the infirmary where Inoue directed them to place Ryuu on the nearest bed as the healer began casting diagnostic spells. When it was confirmed that there was nothing physically wrong with the teen, the healer broke out a vial of smelling salts (laced with magical herbs that helped stimulate the mind) and waved it under the teen's nose only to frown much as Hatake had earlier when there was absolutely no reaction. A glance at the two familiars that had followed their wizard gave no clues as the bird and cat perched on the edge of the bed and stared at the teen with subdued postures.

"I don't know that I can do anything else for him other than see to it his body doesn't suffer," Healer Inoue regretfully announced as he placed several monitoring charms on the unresponsive teen. "Whatever drove him into the depths of his mind was bad enough that he apparently doesn't want to leave." Inoue then cast a couple of other healing spells that were used on long term patients to prevent bed sores and muscle loss due to inactivity. "We'll have to wait until he comes out of it on his own or send someone in after him in order to talk him out. I'd recommend giving him some time to come to terms with whatever drove him inwards to see if he'll return willingly before sending in someone he trusts absolutely to bring him out."

"How long?" Hatake asked.

"I would say at least a day based upon the descriptions of his reactions."

Hatake nodded curtly before he pushed Takashi into the chair beside Ryuu's bed as he said, "Sit with him, Takashi, I will also fetch Luna-chan and your wife on the off chance that their presence might help draw him out. If he hasn't come out by tomorrow morning, then I will go in and bring him out."

Thirty hours later, when it became apparent that Ryuu was not going to come out on his own; Hatake took a seat beside the teen's bed and turned Ryuu's head so that he could look into Ryuu's partially open eyes so he could use Legilimency to slip into the teen's mind. What he found the moment he entered shocked him so bad he immediately fell back out of Ryuu's mindscape as he lost control of the spell.

"What happened?" Takashi demanded as he glanced between Ryuu and Hatake. "Did you already…?"

"I might not be able to get through to him," Hatake whispered wearily, his heart hurting for his honorary nephew. "His mind is… whatever it was that happened completely shattered his mind. His Occlumency shields are gone and there is absolutely none of the usual order found in his mindscape."

"Is there anything you can do?" Taki asked worriedly as she looked up from where she was sitting beside her husband watching Kenji sucking his thumb from where the eighteen month old was sleeping curled up next to Ryuu.

"I can try again… but I make no promises," Hatake replied pensively after a few minutes. "I'm no Mind Healer and Kimura-senpai is far better at this then I am. If I can't find him in there, then we may need to wait until Kimura returns or bring in the Mind Healer that Ryuu has worked with off and on over the last few years."

That said, Hatake once again turned to Ryuu and slipped into the teen's mind. The mess was no less shocking now than it had been the first time but this time Hatake managed to avoid falling back into his own body as he'd known what to expect. Instead of the usual bright room or even the realistic forest that Ryuu had often created when he retreated into his mind there was nothing but darkness for as far as the eye could see with millions of what looked like glass shards floating throughout Ryuu's mind; each sliver containing only the smallest fraction of one of Ryuu's memories.

It looked as if someone had shattered over a thousand mirrors and then suspended the resulting shards in the air and the only reason Hatake could see them through the darkness was because of the tiny flashes of color that danced over the shards from the memory fragments they contained. And he couldn't just recklessly brush the shards aside in order to search for Ryuu's consciousness because he could cause irreparable damage to Ryuu's memories and psyche.

"What did you learn that could have destroyed your mind so thoroughly in such a short amount of time, kiddo," Hatake wondered worriedly with no small amount of fear.

Moving with extreme care, Hatake made his way deeper into the destruction as he looked for Ryuu amidst the fragmented memories. The further he went the darker Ryuu's mind became as the fragments began losing what little color and light they had until Hatake could barely make them out where they floated all around him. The most unnerving thing though was the silence; a silence so complete that the absence of sound actually hurt as it pressed in all around him. All of a sudden he reached the edge of the shattered memory field and he froze as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

He was standing on the edge of an abyss that he could just barely make out as a slightly darker stain against the enveloping blackness he'd been surrounded by since he'd first entered. There was absolutely no way to cross to the other side but Hatake didn't think he needed to cross the gaping cavern; instinct told him that Ryuu would have fled down into the depths because the darkness would represent safety. Much as he'd once sought out the smallest niche in the ruins of an old shrine when he'd been unable to cope with all of the attention that first day he attended classes roughly six years earlier.

It took him a long time to locate the stairs leading down into the abyss and for a moment Hatake hesitated, more than a little worried that he would lose himself in Ryuu's mind. To have come so far just to turn around empty handed wasn't in his nature though and he had only grown more and more worried about the teen the further he'd traveled into the teen's fractured mind. Slipping below the rim into the darkness that clung to him like a second skin, Hatake soon lost all sense of time as he inched his way down the stairs.

At times he wasn't even certain he was moving since he couldn't see or hear anything and his sense of touch was muted by the oppressive darkness that engulfed him. In the waking world, more than ten hours had passed by the time Hatake reached the bottom of the chasm (not that he was aware of that fact) and those that were watching were a wreck as they had no choice but to wait. The charms and spells that Healer Inoue cast on Hatake so he could monitor the older wizard's condition had gone unnoticed as the wizard continued to move deeper and deeper into Ryuu's mindscape searching for the teen.

Hatake knew the moment he reached the bottom of the abyss as he found himself standing in what felt like water or possibly watery mud. He paused as he felt the water tugging at him and he glanced both in the direction the water was coming from and the direction in which the water was flowing as he tried to think of which way Ryuu would go. After a moment he noted that it seemed to grow more lighter downstream than it did upstream and he instinctively turned to head deeper into the darkness. He almost wondered if he'd made a mistake as he struggled against the growing current but dismissed the thought as soon as he had it knowing that if Ryuu was truly hiding, then he'd make it as difficult to be found as possible.

Eventually the rush of water slowed once more as it faded to nothing more than a trickle and Hatake glanced down only to flinch in surprise as he suddenly realized he could see the river turned stream he'd been walking through. What startled him and churned his stomach was the fact that he'd been walking through a river of what looked like blood, not water or mud as he'd originally thought. Swallowing thickly, Hatake stepped out of the river and moved beyond the wellspring he'd suddenly come up on while he'd been walking. Just a few steps beyond the soft glow that allowed him to see he found a door; a small cupboard door.

"Oh, Ryuu-kun," Hatake murmured; his words vanishing before they could break the silence.

Crouching down beside the door, Hatake slowly reached out to the handle and after a slight hesitation he twisted the tarnished brass knob, half afraid that he'd find it locked. The door opened beneath his hand though and he was soon looking into complete darkness once more. Leaning forward, the gray-haired wizard tried to peer through the inky darkness in the hopes that he could see Ryuu. Instead, he heard the first trace of sound since he'd entered Ryuu's mindscape and he felt his heart give a painful lurch as he realized the sound he heard was Ryuu crying.

"Ryuu?" Hatake called gently as he leaned further into the small cupboard, his voice sounding abnormally loud after the long silence and the muffled sobs abruptly stopped.

"Oji?" Ryuu hesitantly called back; his voice small and uncertain.

"Hai, Ryuu-kun," Hatake murmured as warmly as he could. "I need you to come out… we're all worried about you."

"I… I don't want to."

"Please? Can you at least come out here where I can see you?"

A few sniffles sounded and for a moment Hatake thought Ryuu would ignore him until he heard something shifting in the darkness and he moved back out of the door so he wouldn't be in the way. He nearly gasped in shock when instead of a fifteen year old Ryuu crawling out of the small cupboard he found a four or five year old Ryuu. Seeing the hesitation and fear in the green eyes of his honorary nephew, Hatake did the only thing he could; he opened his arms in an unspoken offer of comfort and Ryuu threw himself into the embrace after a moment's hesitation.

Hatake could feel the boy's entire avatar shaking and trembling as he immediately started crying once more. Holding him close, gently rubbing his back and rocking back and forth, Hatake simply held the teen turned toddler as the world around them slowly brightened from near black to a murky gray as the silence gradually retreated. After a while Ryuu slowly quieted and Hatake sat down so he was leaning against the wall beside the open cupboard, Ryuu still clinging to him tightly.

As he gazed outwards through Ryuu's mind he noticed that though there was light there was no color aside from the spring of blood that was the start of the river he'd followed to the cupboard which stood out in stark contrast to the washed out whites and grays. It was creepy and at the same time infinitely better than what had been there before. Shifting his attention back to the child in his arms he wondered what could have affected Ryuu so badly he'd not only hidden deep inside his mind after it shattered but reverted to a childlike mentality.

"What happened kiddo? Why are you so scared?" Hatake gently asked.

Ryuu just shook his head and pressed his face deeper into Hatake's shoulder, his entire body trembling once again. Sighing, Hatake closed his eyes and propped his chin on Ryuu's head and waited; hoping that the teen would either open up to him or at least be willing to leave his mind. He also worried about the length of time he'd spent inside of Ryuu's mindscape, knowing the longer he lingered the more problems he could create not only for Ryuu but himself as well. As if he could hear the thought, Ryuu stirred in his arms and pulled back just enough so he could look him in the eye with weary and still fearful eyes.

"You can't stay, oji; you've been here too long."

"I'm not leaving without you," Hatake countered in a stern voice. "There're too many people up there that I'd be disappointing if I returned alone. They love you and are just as worried about you as I am."

"I don't want to go back. I don't want… I can't…" Ryuu whispered as he closed his eyes and sagged in Hatake's embrace. "I'm frightened, oji."

"Of what? We can't help you if we don't know what happened."

"No one can help me now," Ryuu replied in a voice completely empty of all hope and it pierced Hatake's soul to the quick to hear such desolate resignation from the teen.

"You don't know that," Hatake insisted. "You haven't even given us a chance. At least come back to us; hiding here isn't going to fix whatever you think is wrong or drive away whatever is bothering you."

Opening his eyes, Ryuu stared at Hatake for a long moment before he sighed and reluctantly nodded. Hatake let out a sigh of relief as he stood up with Ryuu still in his arms only for the pint sized teen to wiggle out of his arms so he could stand on his own two feet. Between the moment Hatake set the boy on his feet and the two steps Ryuu had taken away from him he'd grown from his five year old self into his fifteen year old self.

Feeling just a little better now that he knew they'd be leaving, Hatake made to head back the way he'd entered only for Ryuu to grab hold of him as the world around them shifted. The next thing the older wizard knew they were standing at the top of the abyss staring out at the shattered memories that filled the majority of Ryuu's conscious mind. Ryuu huffed at the mess before clearing it away with a flick of his wrist; the shards snapping back together as the memories repaired themselves before vanishing one by one in a wave that passed through the entire area in an instant.

Ryuu then led the way across the barren wasteland that was slowly being revealed as the darkness fled before Ryuu. Turning to look behind them, Hatake noted that the forest Kimura had once spoken of was literally springing up around them as Ryuu led them out of his mind. When they reached the edge of Ryuu's mindscape the two of them paused and Hatake studied both Ryuu and the mindscape; noting that while the silence, darkness, and destruction had been banished it hadn't been completely repaired.

"Ryuu…?"

"Please don't, oji," Ryuu whispered as he turned away from his uncle and stared out over the washed out mindscape that was a pale imitation to what it usually was. "I don't want to go back out there… but I will because you asked me but don't expect me to just bounce right back as if nothing happened. No matter how much you want to, you could never understand… I wouldn't want you to understand. I don't want anyone to understand because I don't want anyone to look at me any differently or worse treat me any differently."

"Ryuu…"

"No, oji… just no…" Ryuu replied as he turned back to meet his uncle's gaze, his emerald eyes devoid of all emotion much as they had been earlier. "Go… you've been here far too long."

And with that Hatake was thrown from Ryuu's mind and he gasped at the shock of being forced back in his own mind before he groaned as his head exploded with pain. He had only a brief moment to verify that Ryuu was back among the living as well before he passed out from exhaustion.

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><p>Over the next handful of days, it became patently obvious that Ryuu was still bothered by whatever had sent him fleeing in the first place as he retreated emotionally if not physically from everyone. He also completely stopped talking, resorting to using hands signs to communicate when he bothered to respond at all. If any of those close to him tried to push him into opening up, he'd simply transform into his animagus form and curl up with his familiars, his little brother, or Luna.<p>

Then there were the times when Ryuu would disappear for hours at a time and no one seemed to be able to find him. It wouldn't have been a big deal if they weren't so worried about him and since Takashi and Taki had decided to remain at the Academy with Ryuu until they could get him to talk (in case he retreated into his mind once again) there were far more places for him to hide.

Ryuu knew he was worrying everyone but he couldn't help it. He didn't know how to deal with what the diadem had told him and he had no desire to share that burden with another least they look at him with the horror he saw reflected in the mirror whenever he saw his reflection. Instead, he took the research notes and journals that Dumbledore had given him and desperately searched for any and all of the information the old wizard had gathered on horcruxes.

While a fraction of his mind was focusing on that, another part was milking every single drop of information the diadem had on horcruxes and how they could be destroyed, yet another part desperately searched for a way to remove the horcrux the diadem had told him was embedded in his scar short of killing himself or asking someone to kill him, and the rest of his consciousness worked through a series of potential ward schemes that could aid him and arithmancy equations that might give him the answers he desperately needed.

A week after Ryuu had been brought out of the depths of his subconscious mind by Hatake; he disappeared for two days straight to build the containment room he needed to remove the fragment of Voldemort's soul that had latched onto him when Voldemort had tried to kill him as a baby. He'd determined, after much testing, that the fragment resided in the lightning bolt like portion of the rune shaped scars on his temple; the two underlying runes the only thing that had prevented the horcrux from actually integrating itself into his mind or soul at some point during the past fourteen years.

He suspected that those two runes of protection were the result of something that his mother or father had done prior to the night of their murder but he had no way of knowing for certain because he couldn't actually speak to his parents because they were dead. Not even the diadem had an answer as to why or how those two protective rune scars had been created or even what had created them but despite that, it was those runic scars that gave Ryuu hope that he could free himself from the darkness that until now he hadn't even known was a part of him.

When he finally stumbled back into the temporary quarters he shared with his parents some fifty-three hours after he'd originally disappear; he was utterly exhausted both mentally and physically, half starved, and covered from head to foot in dirt, stone dust, bruises, and hundreds of scrapes. He had only a split second to register the angry and worried faces of his family and friends rushing towards him before he passed out.

He woke some three or four days later in the middle of the night to find himself in the infirmary again and after making certain that those that had been watching over him were asleep, he changed into his animagus form and slipped out through the door; completely ignoring the tracking and monitoring spells that had been cast upon him while he was unconscious. He stopped by the guest rooms he was sharing with his parents and wrote out a brief note apologizing to everyone before telling them that if he survived the ritual he'd created he'd tell them everything when he returned.

He also very carefully locked his familiars in his bedroom; so they would not be harmed if something went wrong in a misguided attempt to protect him. Finally, he gathered up those things he'd painstakingly collected for the ritual before he transformed back into a red panda and slipped out through the window to head towards the place he'd prepared; never noticing the shadow that broke away from the castle walls and followed him.

It took him a good six hours to reach the roofless containment room he'd built from stones he'd pilfered from the old shrine he'd taken refuge in that first summer he attended lessons at the Japanese Academy. In one corner there was a huge cauldron that was big enough for a person to bath in (much like the one used to give Voldemort a new body) and Ryuu used his cherry wand to light the willow branches that had been painstakingly collected and placed beneath the huge cauldron on fire.

Once the flames were going strong, Ryuu pulled a bundle of sage leaves from the satchel he'd slung over his shoulder and sprinkled them over the flames. He then poured a cleansing solution into the water that filled the cauldron and the room filled with the scent of wet pine needles, eucalyptus, and sandalwood that mingled with the sent of burning sage. While the water warmed, Ryuu began setting up hundreds of candles around the perimeter of the circle of runes he'd carved into the stone floor of the room. After he'd placed the final candle, he lit all of them with a wave of his wand before he moved back over to the cauldron and drew a protective circle in chalk on the floor beside the gently steaming pot of water.

Unmindful of the confused and curious eyes watching him from one of the trees that towered over the roofless room, Ryuu began striping out of the clothes he wore; carefully folding them before he set them in the center of the protective circle he'd drawn. His wands, weapons, and glasses were carefully placed on top of his clothes before he dug out a bar of unscented soap, a large towel, and a folding ladder from his bag. Setting up the stepladder so he would be able to easily get in and out of the cauldron, Ryuu draped the towel over a branch he'd attached to the wall near the cauldron and picked up the long, thin cherry stick lying on the floor beneath it and climbed up into the cauldron.

Letting the stick float free, Ryuu took a deep breath and dunked himself beneath the now barely tolerably hot water to wet his hair before he began scrubbing himself with the bar of soap. The dirt, sweat, soap, and other impurities clinging to him were whisked away by the cleaning solution he'd poured into the water and after about ten minutes, Ryuu was as clean as he was going to get. Climbing out, Ryuu reached out and grabbed the stick he'd cleansed at the same time and held it in one hand as he dried himself off as best he could using his other hand. He then tossed the towel into the now boiling cauldron of water and walked across a rune covered path that led straight to the runic circle inside of the ring of burning candles.

He made his way to the very center of the circle and carefully settled the butt end of the stick in a small indent just in between his feet as he grabbed the upper half of the stick with both hands and held the stick out away from his body so that it pointed slightly towards the north. Ryuu then closed his eyes and sent out a small pulse of wild magic that triggered the wards set in the outer edge of the circle causing a cylinder of shimmering silver light to rise up out of the floor and stretch up towards the heavens. A second pulse solidified the shield and turned it transparent as it hardened in place; an impenetrable barrier separating him from the rest of the world.

Breathing slowly and evenly, Ryuu began gathering the wild magic to him much as he had each time he pulled the dark magic from an object or wound during the protest turned war with Umbridge. Knowing that this was another soul fragment he was dealing with, Ryuu allowed the wild magic to pull on his spiritual energy and his magical core which once again swirled together around him until it coalesced into a dragon around him. Pushing all doubts and fears from his mind, Ryuu tied his essence to the fragile cherry stick in his hands, slowly let go of the stick, and eased his body outside of the dragon that was his magic and his soul given form.

He felt the pain of separation but did not allow himself to flinch or falter; least he lose himself completely. He paid no mind to the frantic cursing of his unseen watcher as the man sent off an urgent message back to the castle. Once he was outside of himself, Ryuu looked up into the eyes of the dragon he'd called forth from his magic and his soul and commanded him to remove that which did not belong. Ryuu's body arched backwards and he screamed as the dragon reached out and pierced the scar on his left temple with its claw and began withdrawing the small fraction of Voldemort's soul that had embedded itself in an eighteen month old child on that fateful Halloween night.

Weak and contained though it was, trapped inside the lightning bolt scar, the soul fragment fought desperately against the pull of the dragon; desperately clinging to the thin thread of magic that had sustained it all of these years. When the fragment was finally ripped from the scar, Ryuu dropped heavily to his knees and gasped for air as he stared up at the twisted and corrupted mass of dark magic and less than human soul clutched between the claws of the dragon.

_Destroy it… rip the magic from the tainted soul and send it to hell where it belongs before cleansing the polluted magic,_ Ryuu commanded weakly as he fought to stay conscious.

The dragon complied, doing as it had done on the night that Ryuu purified the diadem, it reached out and pulled the magical core from the fragment of soul and a second scream filled the circle as the soul twisted in agony. Vision blurring, Ryuu sat back on his heels to keep himself from pitching face first onto the floor as he continued to try and watch what was happening. Like the last soul fragment, once it was separated from its magical core, the soul faded before vanishing completely.

The dragon then purified the blackened globe of magic it held in its claws by breathing fire over the corrupted magic. As the flames washed over Ryuu, he felt his soul washed clean of the taint that had slowly been taking over his heart and mind since he'd learned of the horcrux hidden inside of him. His body was also cleansed of the dark magic that clung to a number of the scars that littered his body. Blackness took him seconds later.

* * *

><p>Kakashi cursed a second time as he scrambled as close to the stone building as he could get with the various protective wards that Ryuu must have placed around the place. As he watched, a column of wild magic shot up straight into the air and the crystalline like shield Ryuu had called into place at the beginning of the ritual began cracking under the stress of containing the sheer magnitude of power. He couldn't believe what he'd just witnessed and he only prayed that Ryuu survived the stupid ritual; if only so he could throttle the teen himself for pulling such a stunt.<p>

Five seconds later he was thrown from his feet as a tremor shook the ground beneath him as the shield shattered and the shockwave of magic it released sped outwards obliterating everything in its path. Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw his death sweeping towards him with blinding speed and he closed his eyes as he waited for the end he knew was coming. When he was still breathing and not in any pain five minutes later, he slowly opened his eyes to find the force of the backlash of magic completely contained within the line of the same wards that had prevented him from getting any closer to the building (a building that had been completely obliterated by the backlash of magic).

Dropping backwards bonelessly as he gulped huge lungful after lungful of pure sweet air, Kakashi sent out prayer of thanks to every deity he'd ever heard of along with his ancestors as his body began trembling under the knowledge of just how close he'd come to dying. It took him close to ten minutes to find the strength to push himself back up onto his feet and as he took a tentative step towards where he knew the edge of the wards stood he jumped back as he felt the wards collapse and a wave of dust washed over him along with the scent of burnt sage.

The knowledge that Ryuu was somewhere in the middle of that mess jarred him into action a heart beat later and he dashed forward as fast as he could through the shifting grit and sand that filled what had once been a lush clearing before Ryuu built his ritual chamber in the center of it. He passed the untouched circle containing Ryuu's belongings as he drew close to where he recalled seeing the cauldron that Ryuu had bathed himself in and knew he was close.

A stiff breeze stirred the smoke and dust that filled the air and Kakashi coughed as he breathed the grit into his lungs. When the wind finally died down and he could once again breathe freely, Kakashi saw Ryuu lying half buried in the dust in the center of the destruction. Oddly enough, the cherry stick that Ryuu had been holding in the beginning stood untouched in the very center, swaying gently from side to side.

"Arigatou, kamisama," Kakashi murmured as he dropped down beside Ryuu and saw the teen's chest rising and falling steadily; as if the teen merely slept.

A flash of silver and gold startled Kakashi and he glanced up in time to see an angry phoenix flash into existence before said phoenix began screeching and scolding the unconscious teen as she fluttered down to land on the boy's chest. Kakashi felt an insane urge to laugh as the phoenix pecked Ryuu on the nose and chin a few times during the tirade before he felt a wave of tiredness wash through him as the phoenix abruptly fell silent and rubbed her cheek against Ryuu's as she cried out a single pearly-gold tear that fell onto Ryuu's lips where it immediately vanished.

"I can well imagine how you feel, Shinjin-hime," Kakashi murmured to the distraught phoenix. "I imagine there will be a long line of people waiting their turn for a chance to yell at him."

"Yow," Tenji growled out loudly as the kneazle slipped up behind Kakashi and promptly bit Ryuu on the ear as if hoping the pain of the bite would wake the teen.

"Natsume no baka," Nyanko-sensei agreed with a growl as the fat cat trundled into site a moment later. "If I thought he'd hear me I'd blister his ears with the things I want to yell at him."

"Are the others…?"

"They're coming," Nyanko grumbled grumpily as he took to head butting Ryuu in the shoulder for a few minutes before he began poking the teen with a single claw (not hard enough to draw blood but hard enough to be irritating if Ryuu could have felt it). "The baka here set up wards to prevent the wizards from coming directly here, so it is taking them longer because humans are puny weaklings."

"Urusai, sensei," Takashi barked as he trotted up beside Kakashi gasping for breath as he dropped down beside the older man. "I don't want to hear that from you when you could have given us a lift instead of tearing off on your own." The younger man then turned to glare at Kakashi. "What the hell happened and why didn't you stop him? Wasn't that the whole point of placing those spells on him after the last time he disappeared?"

"The spells were so he could be found if he snuck off again and I used them to follow him here," Kakashi replied as he lifted Ryuu out of the dust and ash, making the two familiars and one youkai voice more than a few complaints. "I couldn't stop him because he warded the entire area to prevent anyone from following him into the heart of the clearing and because I had initially wanted to see what he was up to before interrupting but by the time I realized he was doing something stupid it was too late to stop it. I still don't know exactly what he did but I have my suspicions."

The gray-haired wizard then passed the unconscious teen to his father so he could pull out his wand to conjure a blanket in order to cover the naked teen. Takashi started walking away when Shinjin threw a fit and began batting at him with her wings, herding him backwards until he practically tripped over the cherry branch propped up in the exact center of the clearing. After a few fruitless attempts to leave without it, Kakashi finally walked over and pulled the branch free before placing it over top of Ryuu.

The phoenix immediately settled on Takashi's shoulder and trilled imperiously as if telling the two men it was about time they listened to her. Shaking his head, Kakashi walked over to the protective circle where Ryuu's clothes and other belongings had been preserved against the magical backlash and gathered up everything before he followed Takashi. They were met just at the edge of the destruction by Healer Inoue, Kimura, Yamamoto, and a couple of other staff members.

Yamamoto sent all of the wizards but Inoue and Kakashi to clean up the aftermath of Ryuu's ritual. Yamamoto watched the three leaving with the teen before he turned back to the mess the kid had made in one of the clearings on the school ground. He'd felt the school's entire wards start buckling under the sheer volume of magic that the teen had been playing with and he wasn't certain if he was angrier or more worried about that.

The fact that the wards didn't buckle and that the kid had obviously made an attempt to contain the power in single location made it easier not to give into the anger. Unfortunately, Ryuu had still put the entire school at risk with what ever it was he was doing; and so help him, if the kid didn't have a good reason for doing so Yamamoto was going to demote him down to slug and make him scrub chamber pots by hand all summer long in place of taking classes.

Once they cleared the anti-apparation wards that Ryuu had put up around the perimeter of his ritual site, a good twenty miles out from the center, Kakashi took Ryuu back from Takashi and apparated the teen directly to the entrance of the school while Inoue brought Takashi along via side-along apparation. Kakashi was already halfway to the infirmary by the time the other two caught up with him and he knew by the scowl on Takashi's face the man was upset that Kakashi hadn't waited for him or immediately passed his son back to him the moment he caught up.

Kakashi couldn't help it though; ever since he'd spent close to three days hunting for Ryuu inside of his own mind and convincing the kid to leave his mind he'd felt even closer to the teen. And Kakashi had already thought the boy the closest thing to a son he'd ever have long before that trip. He suspected it had something to do with the childlike state he'd found him in after talking him into leaving that dark cupboard in his mind.

Laying the unconscious boy on the nearest bed, Kakashi stepped back as Healer Inoue stepped up beside him and began casting a few spells. The healer frowned and recast a couple of the spells only to slap his wand against his thigh a moment as he pinched his lower lip with his other hand as he contemplated the teen. He was muttering to himself a moment later as he turned away and walked towards the potions cabinet where he stored the school's supply of healing potions under a stasis charm to prevent them from expiring. He pulled out two vials without any hesitation and hesitated over a third before grabbing it.

He then returned to the bed and weighed the potions in his hand before setting them on the bed and casting another series of spells at Ryuu; diagnostic scans, general healing, and a magical core scan which would tell him if Ryuu had seriously depleted his core a second time in under a week. He had… far worse than he had the first time. Cursing under his breath, Inoue placed the potion he'd hesitated on taking on top of Ryuu's stomach and performed a switching spell with the contents of Ryuu's stomach and the contents of the vial. He then waited five minutes before he banished the stomach acid back into Ryuu's stomach.

Most people would think that you could just banish or spell a potion into a person's stomach but doing that would usually cause the person either severe indigestion or worse explode the stomach. So healers switched the contents and allowed enough time for the potion to move through the digestive system (for the magical core rejuvenator he gave the teen it was twenty minutes) before returning the stomach fluids (not always necessary but it usually aided the absorption process and gave you something to switch the next potion with if you were administering a series of them).

He waited the prerequisite twenty minutes before he repeated the process with a nutrient potion to give Ryuu the nutrients he needed since the teen hadn't eaten anything in close to a week and very little prior to that. The final potion, which was spelled into the teen the same way as the first two, was given to him an hour after the nutrient potion and was a general healing potion that would take care of the small signs of stress that Inoue had picked up during his earlier scans. Stress directly related to the sheer amount of power Ryuu had channeled which affected his body on a molecular level that resulted in a series of microscopic tears throughout his entire body. The general healing potion would heal those stress tears and prevent any scarring that could create future problems.

The healer waited another half an hour before he scanned Ryuu's body yet again and he was pleased to see that the nutrient and healing potion were doing their job though the core rejuvenator didn't appear to have helped much. He checked the time and set an alarm charm to remind himself to give the teen another dose of the potion in two hours if there still hadn't been any improvements. He frowned again and finally noticed the cherry branch tucked into the bed beside Ryuu and he reached out to move it only to receive an angry hiss from the phoenix nesting on the pillow beside Ryuu's head. As the bird shifted to glare at the healer for attempting to move he stick, Healer Inoue finally noticed the state of the scar on Ryuu's left temple.

Healer Inoue had seen the scar often over the years since Ryuu started at the academy and normally it was barely visible; nothing more than a tracery of fine silver-white lines that were barely visible unless you knew what you were looking for. It had been noted early on that when Ryuu channeled his magic or lost control of his emotions (mostly when he was extremely angry or terrified) his scar would glow with magic. The color of the glow, the intensity of the glow, and the pulse of the glow varied depending on how much magic he was channeling or which emotion was triggering the glow and exactly how intense the emotion was at the time.

There had also been the small handful of times when that same scar had been red, raw, and swollen; usually after a violent nightmare. In that state it was resistant to all types of magical healing (both wanded and potioned) but usually healed on its own shortly after Ryuu woke up and calmed down. Basically, the scar defied all logic and none of his scans had ever picked up anything odd; not when it was barely visible, not when it glowed, and not even when it appeared as if it had been freshly carved into the side of Ryuu's face. Looking at that scar right now had the hairs on the back of Healer Inoue's neck standing up as an icy finger trailed down his back and goose bumps rose over every surface possible.

The uppermost scar, the one that looked like the letter 'Y' with an extra line running vertically through the center of it (reminiscent of the rune Algiz from the Elder Futhark Alphabet) currently appeared as if it had been tattooed into place with a thin thread of pure gold. The second symbol, the one just to the right of the first that looked like a diamond with an upside down 'V' attached to the bottom (the rune Othala from the same rune alphabet) appeared the same only in silver instead of gold.

The final portion of the scar, the one that bisected both of the first two symbols and looked like a lightning bolt or a stylized 'S' (the rune Sowilo) made Inoue's stomach churn as he looked at it because it was red, raw, and swollen and the edges of the skin appeared as if they'd been burnt. In fact, he could almost smell the sickeningly sweet scent of burnt flesh clinging to Ryuu now that he knew it was there.

The thing that bothered the healer the most though was that none of his scans had picked up on the changes in Ryuu's scar. Not the metal-like appearance, not the seared flesh, and not the fact that the scar was still bleeding as he stared at the thin line of blood that had pooled on the pillow beneath the phoenix. He leaned forward in order to examine the scar a little better and his eyebrows rose above his hairline as he noted the very thin, barely shimmering shield that separated the third symbol from the first two; as if the shield had been overlaid on the two bottom portions of the scar and the third bit was just an extra bit laid over top of the shield. It made no sense.

"Senpai? Can you tell me what happened tonight?" Healer Inoue inquired as he cast several diagnostic scans directly on the scar only to find the spells still detected nothing wrong.

"Allow me to show you instead," Kakashi replied wearily as he lifted his wand to his head and pulled free a copy of what he'd seen. "I doubt I could even begin to describe what I saw and if what I saw was what I thought it was then I think I can understand why Ryuu-kun has been behaving the way he has since we arrived and spoke with Yamamoto-shishou. Pensieve?"

Once a pensieve was retrieved and the memory deposited, all three adults dove in without any hesitation; Healer Inoue because he needed to understand what Ryuu had done to himself so he could heal him, Kakashi because he wanted to see if he saw what he thought he saw the first time, and Takashi because he really hated being kept in the dark (especially when it came to anything his son had to deal with). Half an hour later, the three of them were back in the infirmary and Takashi fell back on the floor as he buried his face in his hands. Healer Inoue looked a little green around the gills but there was a burning determination in his eyes as he approached Ryuu and began casting an entirely different set of spells on the young teen; spells that produced considerably better results than the standard diagnostic spells he'd been using earlier.

"Kakashi… please tell me that I wasn't seeing what I thought I saw," Takashi whispered pleadingly as he finally peered at the older man over the tips of his fingers.

"I won't lie," Hatake replied gently. "I hadn't wanted to believe it the first time I saw it either. I think… I think I can understand exactly why Ryuu reacted the way he did; I think knowing I was… that I'd been carrying even a small fraction of a monster inside of me would have shattered my mind and my soul beyond repair. I also wouldn't have wanted anyone to know… least they believe the only way to end the threat I now represented was for me to die."

"Dumbledore knew," Takashi replied tightly as he scowled. "He had to have known. It is the only explanation that makes sense of his desire to keep Ryuu weak and uniformed. Why he was prepared to groom my son as a sacrificial lamb so he could turn him into a martyr. It would also explain why he would so easily believe that Ryuu was going dark; because he thought the soul fragment was influencing him."

"If he did know, he had no business keeping it from you," Kakashi growled. "I can see his logic for not letting the kid know but as his father you had every right to know that there was something that could potentially influence your son. If we had known this years ago we could have found a way to take care of it without Ryuu resorting to cobbling together some half-assed ritual. And while I'm certain he would have worked it from every angle; there is still much Ryuu needs to learn about ritualistic magic and warding. He could have killed himself, stripped himself of his magic, or worse."

"Natsume-kun is resting peacefully now," Healer Inoue murmured as he joined the two adults sitting and crouching near the pensieve. "I've managed to treat the scar and it is slowly healing. The bigger problem is that I don't think Natsume-kun is actually inside of his body at the moment."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kakashi growled as he glanced up at the healer and frowned.

"Part of Natsume-kun's soul is bound to the twig the phoenix is guarding. He hasn't torn his soul or created a horcrux or anything like that but something he did tied his essence to the stick and he is currently trapped halfway between the stick and his body. If you'd separated him from the stick you might well have killed him or torn his soul in half unintentionally."

"How in the world are we supposed to fix that?" Takashi demanded as he rose to his feet and hurried to his son's side.

"I don't know," Inoue admitted tiredly. "Whatever is tying him to the stick could gradually release him or he could pull himself back once his core recharges enough. Snapping the stick could send him back or pull him completely out. The phoenix seems to know what's going on and because she's a spirit phoenix she might be trying to guide him back as we speak. I don't know anyone who deals in soul magic." Inoue glanced over at Kakashi after saying that last bit and asked hopefully, "Do you?"

"No… just Ryuu-kun; and he is far from an expert. Takashi? Can anyone you know help him? Could it be linked to his other talent?"

"Natori-san might… If you can get me through the portal I'll hunt him down and ask him," Takashi replied as he looked up from Ryuu.

It was at that point that Headmaster Yamamoto strode into the room with a fierce scowl on his face. He glanced at the pensieve for a moment before he turned his raptor's gaze on each of the other occupants of the room, his eyes lingering just a moment longer on Ryuu.

"I have been very tolerant and tried to be very understanding and accommodating with Natsume-kun through his years here but the stunt he pulled today was completely and totally unacceptable. If the boy doesn't have a damned good reason for putting this entire school in danger I will see to it he doesn't touch a wand for the rest of the summer if not for the next two years," Yamamoto declared tightly as he flicked his gaze between Kakashi and Takashi.

"I'll sum it up in one word," Hatake stated as he calmly met the agitated wizard's gaze. "Horcrux."

"Are you telling me he brought a horcrux into my school and then foolishly tried to destroy it without asking for help or permission?" Yamamoto bellowed angrily; something very few people had ever witnessed of the usually serene wizard.

"No…" Takashi snapped back. "He's saying my son was the horcrux."

Yamamoto froze, his anger vanishing in an instant as the implication of that statement immediately hit home and he slowly sat down on the edge of the nearest bed. He glanced at the unconscious teen again before he let his eyes seek out the pensieve that was still flickering with silver light indicating the presence of a memory still inside. His eyes then jumped back to the teen as he thought back to everything that had happened since he first uttered the word horcrux in his office the day they'd stumbled through the portal.

Making a decision, Yamamoto rose to his and strode purposefully towards the pensieve and soon vanished inside so that he would know exactly what the others knew before he jumped to any more conclusions. When he came back out he wore a pensive look on his face and his eyes turned sad when he gazed at the sleeping child and sighed before he shook his head.

He then turned to the other adults and said, "I trust you will let me know when he wakes? Given the circumstances, I think a scolding about not trusting those that have placed so much trust in him and maybe a few more lessons on proper ritual etiquette wouldn't be remiss."

"His schedule for the coming summer session and his sixth year has already been drawn up," Hatake revealed slowly as he ran a hand through his hair, making his gray locks stick up even more than usual. "It'll take a bit of work but I think I can make a few adjustments to make room to include one more topic."

"Classes are due to start in less than two weeks," Yamamoto reminded everyone as he headed towards the exit so he could ponder what he'd learned today. "What are the chances that Natsume-kun will be awake and able to handle his current class load?"

"Fifty-fifty that he'll be awake and maybe thirty-seventy that he'd be able to handle a heavy class load," Healer Inoue answered after he gave the matter some thought. "Depends on his mental state, on if he was as successful as it appeared he was with his cobbled ritual, and if there are any magical repercussions from what he put himself through to remove the soul fragment. Of course, all of that depends on whether or not we can return the portion of his soul he tied to the cherry branch back to his body first."

"Anone?"

"He bound himself to the stick during the ritual as best I could tell, an anchor to ground his soul and his magic," Inoue carefully explained. "I know next to nothing about soul magic but I do know how to cast the spells that reveal disturbances surrounding the soul and his soul currently exists half in and half out of his body. He has not permanently damaged his soul but that could change if we don't return him soon."

"I see; has his… condition affected his familiars?"

"Not exactly, their bonds are firmly where they belong as far as I can tell and the phoenix is protecting him and the portion of his soul that is currently vulnerable. I've done what I can for him physically and magically but I am not qualified to treat him spiritually, shishou."

"I see…" Yamamoto murmured with a frown before he turned to Takashi. "May I have your permission to seek help from those within the Alliance that have knowledge of Soul Magics in hopes that they might not only be able to help heal him but also teach him to properly harness the Spiritual part of his magics so that this does not happen again in the future?"

"Hai, Yamamoto-sama," Takashi agreed without any hesitation. "All I request is that no information about what happened today or Ryuu-kun's current status is given to Dumbledore or anyone in the English Ministry. Neither I nor my son currently trust them due to what was discovered tonight and what happened the last time we spoke to the wizard. I'd also like permission to bring a friend of mine to the academy on the off chance that he might be able to help my son."

"I am willing to grant you both of your requests. Rest assured that I will be discrete in approaching those with the ability to manipulate Soul Magic and will not mention any names unless they are willing to help and are sworn to secrecy to protect your son. You are more than welcome to bring your friend to the castle if you think there is any chance he can help; I will not stop you from seeking every possible avenue open to you to heal your son. If he knows how to help the child and needs anything; please do not hesitate to let me know and I will see to it he has what he needs."

Takashi nodded as he arched an eyebrow at Kakashi and the gray-haired wizard nodded and the two of them slipped out of the infirmary and headed towards the portal. It was time to put Ryuu back together yet again.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Anone – excuse me  
>Urusai – shut up (rude)<p>

**Rune Translations:**

Algiz – Elk or Protection (represents protection or defense, has a connection with the gods, indicate an awaking or higher purpose, and can be used to channel energies; often seen as a shield or a guardian)  
>Othala – Ancestral Property (represents inherited property or material goods but can also indicate a spiritual heritage, ancestry, or experience and is seen as a source of safety, increase, and abundance and can provide aid in both physical and spiritual journeys)<br>Sowilo – the Sun (represents success and honor and seen as the life force, good health, and positive changes; also is seen to mean wholeness, power, elemental force, or cleansing fire – also called the sword of flame)

Some of you will make the connections between the three runes I chose for Ryuu's (Harry's) scar and the powers I've given to Ryuu. For those of you who remember Ryuu's comments after he removed and purified the horcrux from the diadem (this was back in chapter forty) you may now realize why he had felt the way he did about the magic he'd absorbed at the end; if you didn't already guess back when you first read that part. If you still have questions and it won't give away anything from later in the story I will answer them if you leave me your questions in a review. Any questions as to how he got the two additional runes will be politely ignored as that will be answered later in the story.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Another horcrux dealt with, one of Shinjin's main powers/purposes has finally been shown (protection of the soul), and the adults learn one of the reasons why Dumbledore behaves the way he does. Things will be moving pretty quickly from here on out as there are only seven chapters remaining; next chapter will be up in a couple of days again. _

_For those of you reading this story who are also following Banished Destiny, I'm not ignoring my other story, I just got a bit frustrated with all of the anti-pairing comments and PM's and so have been unmotivated to edit the next chapter. I won't abandon the story and I won't change the pairing (because I'm not rewriting 20+ chapters just because a few people are unhappy with my plot choices) but it will be a bit longer before I finish cleaning it up for posting. I'll at least have another chapter or two posted here before I get the next chapter of Banished up along with the first chapter of WWYR2. ~ Jenn_


	46. The Tarnished Soul

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 45: The Tarnished Soul Spreads Corruption like a Disease<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan  
>Hogwarts Castle, Scotland<br>June 1996 ~ July 1996_

Ryuu packed up his books with an absentminded wave of his cherry wand as his French class was dismissed for the day. Beside him Luna was packing up her books the old fashioned way, humming under her breath as she tucked everything into her book bag. He absently noted that Tenji was once again grooming Himiko and he frowned at his familiar (not because the kneazle was fond of Luna's kneazle but because the male kneazle was behaving strangely lately and he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that was different).

Shrugging off his familiar's overly friendly interactions with Luna's kneazle, he turned to his girlfriend of nearly two years and silently offered to carry her book bag for her. When she passed it to him with a fond smile he slung it over his shoulder alongside his own bag and offered her his hand before they left the room together and headed towards their usual study room where they'd be meeting the rest of their friends.

As they walked silently hand in hand, Ryuu couldn't help but reflect on everything that had happened since that fateful day in Dumbledore's office. He didn't much care to think about those first three weeks back in Japan but at the same time he refused to allow himself to forget. It wasn't that he wanted to torture himself with what he now considered the second darkest point in his life (Shogun's murder being the darkest); it was that he didn't want to forget why he was fighting. He needed the reminder; least the stress of everything break him to the point where he no longer cared.

"Sickle for your thoughts?"

"Just thinking about the last month, month and a half," Ryuu replied as he squeezed her hand.

"Oh…"

"I was thinking how wonderful it has been to be able to spend time with you without having to look over my shoulder or worry about anything other than classes," Ryuu continued when he heard the slight depression in Luna's voice as he gently pulled her to a stop and brought her around so he could meet her gaze. "You mean the world to me and I have to remind myself every day just how precious you are because it would kill me if I hurt you because I took your presence for granted. I know I'm not perfect… and I know I make mistakes… and no one knows better than I just how broken I am… but when I'm with you I have hope and I find that dreams are not just nightmares that haunt me when I sleep."

Ryuu then let go of her hand so he could cup her face with both hands as he lowered his head and captured her lips in a kiss that was tender in the extreme. He pulled back just a little bit and waited for her eyes to flutter open in confusion as his breath brushed teasingly across her lips with each exhale. As emerald met sapphire, Ryuu said the words that his soul had been nurturing since the day he had rescued Luna on that fateful Halloween night when he'd first stumbled across her on the Hogwarts' grounds in his second year.

"I love you, Luna."

His eyes smiled as he watched her eyes widen in shock while at the same time filling with amazement and pleasure as he once again pressed his lips to hers as their eyes fluttered closed at the same time. This kiss was as fiery as the first kiss was tender and Ryuu poured his soul into the kiss, telling her without words exactly how much she meant to him. Two satchels hit the floor seconds later as Ryuu's hands left her face and traveled down to her waist so he could pull her closer to him. Pulling her flush against him he felt a rush of desire run through him and he deepened their kiss further as his hands began gently kneading her back. She moaned deliciously and Ryuu felt a tingle run down his spine as she wound her fingers into his hair and pushed herself even closer.

He was drowning and he reveled in the feeling as his magic seemed to sing in response to the feelings that Luna inspired in him. He slid his hands lower on their own and were just cupping Luna's bum when he felt a hand fall on his shoulder and he reluctantly broke the kiss to glare up at his honorary uncle. He'd known it was someone he knew and trusted because his familiars would have reacted negatively otherwise. His irritation quickly morphed into concern when he noted the serious look on his uncle's face and he regretfully allowed Luna to pull away.

"Oji?"

"You need to come with me, now, Ryuu-kun," Hatake replied tersely. "Luna-chan can you please track down Satoshi-kun and ask him to inform Ryuu's instructors that Ryuu will not be attending classes for the rest of the day and could possibly be gone for the rest of the week?"

"Of course, sensei," Luna replied breathlessly with a touch of wistfulness as she gathered up her satchel and handed Ryuu's his. She then pressed a quick kiss to Ryuu's lips before she vanished as if she'd been nothing more than a waking fantasy or a ghost… Ryuu smiled after her as he thought, _No, not a ghost… a fairy maybe… or a moonbeam dancing in a clearing on a cloudless night. _

"You can moon after your girlfriend later, kiddo," Hatake dryly pointed out as he steered Ryuu towards the stairs leading back down to the first floor. "We don't have time right now to discuss your indiscretion but we will be having words when we get back about appropriate places for displays of affection and keeping the level rated 'G' when in public. Right now we've got an emergency appointment in Scotland."

"We don't go around the school kissing in the hallways like that normally," Ryuu muttered as he blushed; it seemed like every time he and Luna tried to explore a bit his uncle turned up to spoil the moment. As that thought shot through his mind, Ryuu glanced up at his uncle out of the corner of his eye and frowned. He then casually asked, "You don't have some kind of monitoring charm on me just so you can purposefully break us up every time we do more than hold hands do you?"

Hatake stumbled over his feet at the unexpected question, a slight flush tingeing his cheeks as he muttered, "No and I don't go following you around either. Not that I haven't considered it, mind you." The older wizard then grew serious once more. "I would have thought you would be more interested in knowing what was going on instead of whether or not your make-out sessions were being sabotaged."

"Would you think me weak if I said I'd rather not know because you said we were going to Scotland?" Ryuu asked in a small voice as he allowed his uncle to steer him through the castle. "If I said I'd much rather stay here than go back there?"

"No one thinks you're weak," Hatake replied automatically. "And if it wasn't for the fact that another one has been found I would have never come to find you to take you back there so soon after what happened."

Ryuu stopped moving and twisted out of his uncle's grasp as he backtracked a bit. He knew exactly what his uncle meant by 'another one' and he had no desire to encounter another soul fragment; not when he still had troubling thinking about the fragment that had been part of him for nearly fourteen years. And if it was just a matter of another fragment being found then it wouldn't exactly be an emergency since the horcruxes were fairly benign unless you triggered it and it tried to possess you or you were trying to destroy it and it struck out in the hopes of destroying you first.

"One of _those_ does not constitute an emergency," Ryuu stated as he warily watched his uncle. "Why am I being dragged halfway back around the world just to deal with something that could have easily been brought here?"

"Dumbledore-san is dying," Hatake bluntly stated. "He attempted to deal with the thing on his own and he triggered a dark curse that is slowly eating his magic and his life. The process has been slowed for the time being but unless the curse is treated he will be dead in less than two months if not sooner. I realize you are not overly fond of the wizard right now and we are not asking you to forgive or forget what he said or did; what we are asking is that you put aside your anger with him (justified thought it is) just long enough to deal with the curse and the fragment."

Ryuu stared at his uncle for nearly a full minute before he gave a sharp nod and pulled out his flute with one hand. He did not like the fact that he was being asked to help Dumbledore, he was still very angry with the wizard and not just because of what he'd said at the end of the school year; the man had a lot to answer for (and not just to Ryuu). The only reason Ryuu was even considering helping the man was because there was one of Voldemort's soul fragments involved. Bringing his flute to his mouth, Ryuu concentrated on summoning three phoenixes.

"Tenji, stay with Luna," Ryuu instructed his kneazle as the requested phoenixes appeared in a flash of flames and two darkened shadows. "Fawkes, would be willing to take a message to Shaman Rabinur and bring him to Hogwarts?"

The phoenix studied Ryuu intently before he bobbed his head in acquiesce and Ryuu murmured a soft thanks as he pulled out a scroll of blank parchment and used a pen to write out a couple of short notes; one to the shaman from Madagascar that had answered Yamamoto's request earlier this summer (he'd been the one to help Ryuu's soul return to his body after Ryuu's horcrux removal ritual left him trapped half outside his body) and one to his father. He then ripped the first note from the scroll and passed it to the fire phoenix.

The shaman had also been teaching him how to harness his spiritual power (Shaman Rabinur could see youkai too though he knew them by a different name) so that Ryuu would never again be trapped as he had been. One of the orders Ryuu had been given when he accepted the offered lessons had been to inform the shaman wizard the next time he needed to deal with a soul fragment or pull the dark magic from a curse so that he could observe the process. The note Ryuu had just sent off with Fawkes would do just that and provide the man a means of traveling quickly to the castle.

"Would you be willing to take a note to my tousan, kind phoenix? And bring him to Hogwarts as well?" Ryuu asked of one of the two shadow phoenixes he'd called. When the bird in question nodded as well, Ryuu tore off the second note and passed it to the near black phoenix before turning to face the final magical bird while he reached out and took hold of his uncle's hand. "Will you please transport us to Hogwarts, friend?"

In reply, the phoenix landed on their clasped hands and pulled them into the shadows and five seconds later they were standing in the middle of the Hogwarts' Infirmary with Shinjin chittering a soft complaint as she hadn't been the one to transport her wizard. Madam Pomfrey let out a soft, startled scream as she whirled around clutching at her heart and holding her wand unsteadily. When she saw it was just Ryuu, Hatake, and the two phoenixes, she sighed and sagged in relief as she turned back to where she was treating a bone white, heavily sweating, and currently unconscious Dumbledore.

"Thank Merlin you are here, Mr. Natsume," Madam Pomfrey breathily murmured and Ryuu could hear the fear and grief in her voice. "I stopped the curse from spreading beyond the elbow but I don't know how much longer I can stave off the destruction."

"Oji, will you please go prepare the chamber I used to cleanse the diadem?" Ryuu inquired as he let go of his uncle's hand and stepped forward to examine Dumbledore's blackened and atrophied right hand and arm, absently noting the ring that glittered on the wizard's right ring finger. "The castle has already shifted so that it is no longer hidden and the wards are still in place."

Hatake nodded his willingness to do as requested and wasted no time in heading down to the room in question so he could start. Shaman Rabinur appeared with Fawkes a moment later and the ageless, dark-skinned wizard visibly paled the moment he turned his eyes upon Dumbledore. Ryuu bowed respectfully to the shaman before he stepped up to Dumbledore's side and pulled just enough wild magic to him to place a shield around the affected portion of Dumbledore's arm that would both stop the curse from spreading and prevent it from seeking out a new victim.

"Madam Pomfrey, could you please tell me what potions and spells you have used on Dumbledore-san?" Ryuu asked once the curse was contained.

"A few diagnostic spells to try and determine what kind of curse it was, the standard containment spell to slow the curse's progression, and two attempts to counter the curse with a Finite," Madam Pomfrey replied, the school's healer long used to providing Ryuu this information from when he'd helped her cure the students that had been cursed by Umbridge early in the previous school year. "The potions I administered were a full dose of strengthening solution, two doses of magical core rejuvenator, a general healing potion, a pain relieving potion, and a mild sedative."

"Did he say how he was cursed before you sedated him?"

"Yes, the ring you see on his finger is responsible and I was unable to remove it from his hand magically since I did not want to risk being cursed as well by touching it with my hands. He was the one that asked me to tell you that he'd found another one; whatever that meant."

"Ahou no baka," Ryuu spat without any real venom as he stared at the ring on the old wizard's hand. "What ever possessed you to put the damn thing on when you knew what it was?" Ryuu shook his head in disgust before he schooled his expression and turned to address the healer once more as the second shadow phoenix arrived with his father in tow. "Pomfrey-sama, please take Dumbledore-san to the third floor corridor, ojisan should just about have the chamber ready. He will need to be placed directly on the floor and if he is carrying a wand or any other magical artifacts (including his glasses) they will need to be removed before I begin. Tousan, were you able to find my uniform?"

"Hai," Takashi replied as he passed Ryuu a duffel bag. "Are you certain you know what you are doing?"

"No… but as much as I dislike the wizard right now I can't very well allow my personal feelings to interfere with what needs to be done," Ryuu replied as he opened the bag and dug out his officer's uniform that he'd layered with extra wards specifically for dealing with the diadem last January. "Shaman Rabinur I would like to thank you for coming on such short notice. If this hadn't been an emergency I would have given you far more time to prepare."

"It was no trouble, child," Shaman Rabinur replied. "You are hardly the first person to drag me from my home with little to no warning and I doubt you will be the last one to do so. Though I will admit you are the first one to do so by phoenix."

"Fawkes needed something to do in order to feel as if he was helping his wizard," Ryuu replied as he striped out of his school uniform (which only had a basic ward stitched into them) and began pulling on his officer's uniform; unmindful that the shaman was eyeing his various scars with the same curiosity he had the other times he'd seen them. "Phoenixes can heal most injuries and counteract all naturally occurring poisons and venoms (and most non-natural occurring ones) with their tears; however tainted magic and foreign objects are beyond even their impressive abilities. And while I am not on the best of terms with Dumbledore-san right now even I am not callous enough to ignore the suffering Fawkes must be going through right now as the man's bonded familiar. I know that pain far too well."

"Yes… I remember well the hole I saw in your soul from where one beloved familiar was torn from you," Shaman Rabinur replied as they began heading out of the infirmary once Ryuu had finished changing. "Might I ask how you intend to deal with both the curse and the soul fragment that is slowly eating Dumbledore's magic and life force?"

"I can either remove them one right after the other or remove them both at the same time. Which method I use will depend on how intertwined the soul fragment and the dark magic in the curse are and how tightly each of them have a hold on Dumbledore's body, magic, and soul," Ryuu replied. "I'm kind of nervous right now because this will only be my second time in dealing with an active horcrux; the first time was when I destroyed the diary in my second year. The other two horcruxes that I personally destroyed were both inactive."

"Although, when compared to this newest active fragment, that first active fragment's possession was more benign and in some ways far more sinister because it was sucking both the soul and the life force from the young witch who'd been unknowingly interacting with the fragment of her own free will. It had been able to generate a form of sorts through that possession though it took far longer to do so than simply taking her over would have."

"In Dumbledore's case; it would appear that the fragment is trying to take over its host as quickly as possible rather than just using Dumbledore's magic and life force to regenerate itself. The problem with taking over the human being possessed though is the fact that the dark magic used to create the soul fragment is corrupted and it will taint the host the moment the fragment takes hold of the body; a prime example would be Dumbledore's arm," Ryuu explained to the shaman (though the man was probably already aware of that information, however speaking of what he knew about soul possessions and horcruxes actually helped Ryuu center his conflicted emotions and settle his nerves over the necessity of dealing with another soul fragment).

He paused for a moment in his explanation to indicate a door that had just opened from behind a suit of armor and revealed, "There's a short cut here that will take us directly to the secure chamber so we don't waste time going around the long way." Once inside the hidden passage way, Ryuu picked up from where he left off, "That the soul fragment did not attempt to slowly steal Dumbledore's life force and magic raises several questions."

"Was the fragment impatient because it has been separated from the original soul too long? Did the fragment recognize Dumbledore and see him as a threat to its existence? Did it see him as the ultimate vessel? Did it simply recognize the strength of Dumbledore's core and act swiftly least the old wizard somehow sense what was happening and stop it? For that matter, what the hell was the old man thinking when he placed one of the horcruxes on his hand? Was he already being influenced by the fragment at that time or was there another curse involved?"

"All good questions," Shaman Rabinur stated with a nod of approval. "How do you intend to get the answers you need?"

"I don't need any of the answers," Ryuu replied carefully as they stepped out of the hidden passage way directly into the Secure Chamber where Pomfrey was just finishing removing everything magical from Dumbledore (she'd even stripped the old wizard's robes and dressed him in a simple white cotton robe). "At least not at this point. All I need to know is how tightly the soul fragment is tied into the curse that is destroying Dumbledore's arm and how far the fragment has integrated itself into Dumbledore's magic and body; answers I will get before I start removing both the dark magic and the fragment it is tied to. The rest of those questions can potentially be answered by the old fool once he has been healed."

"You do not think you are being too arrogant and letting your pride dictate your actions again?" the shaman pointedly asked as he gestured to Dumbledore's blackened arm. "Think of where an older and far wiser wizard's arrogance led him and ask yourself how large or small of a miscalculation it took for him to end up where he is now."

Ryuu tilted his head to one side as he gave the question a moment of consideration before he carefully gave his reply with slow, measured words, "Knowing what information is necessary to extract the tainted magic that is slowly killing Dumbledore is not pride or arrogance. I am basing my decisions on several centuries of knowledge I have had at my disposal, my personal experiences, and what I have learned of the nature of all magic. If I were to waste time searching for the answers to all of my questions then Dumbledore would be dead before I could even begin. There is a time to research and a time to act and knowing when each one is required is what makes a leader or a healer good at what they do."

"Well said, child, well said," Rabinur murmured proudly before he left Ryuu standing in the center of the chamber and followed Madam Pomfrey out of the room so he could watch the proceedings from the safety of the observation room.

Ryuu huffed a bit over the now obvious test that the old shaman had just given him and wondered if he could expected to be tested in such ways for the rest of his life. After a brief moment, he decided that yes, he could, because it was both the nature and the habit of the older generations to test the younger generations to make certain they were ready for the responsibilities that they would one day be given. He smiled for a moment at the thought before he shook his head and focused on the task at hand.

The first thing he did was check to make certain all three of his wands were secure in their holsters (one in each sleeve and one on his left thigh) before he pulled out his cherry wand (the wand he was most comfortable using) and scanned the room for traces of magic that could potentially interfere with what he was about to do. Finding the room clear, he manually activated the wards by leaning down to touch the rune key imbedded into the floor at the center of the room. He felt the hum of magic rushing through the room as the wards roared to life all around him and calmly stepped back away from Dumbledore as he waited for the wards to settle before he started.

Unlike the last time he performed an extraction in this very room, this time Ryuu was facing the observation window so that he could communicate with those watching if needs be (through sign language). Glancing up at the reinforced and warded window, Ryuu let them know he'd be spending a few minutes casting diagnostic spells and testing the magic in the injury before he began. He then gave his full attention to the aged wizard lying on the floor at his feet as he began casting spells that measured the amount and type of magic in a wound and noted that the deadly curse was overpowering the spells that Madam Pomfrey had cast on Dumbledore's arm.

At the same time, he was also drawing on the wild magic that filled Hogwarts and testing the soul fragment with tiny threads to determine how far it had merged with Dumbledore's core. He was more than a bit surprised to find that the soul also seemed to be fighting off the magic imbedded in the stone of the ring which housed the horcrux and suddenly Ryuu knew why the fragment had been so desperate to take possession of the first person to touch it. The power of the stone was slowly winning the battle against the horcrux and it would have only been a matter of about two to five more years before the horcrux had been completely destroyed; a slow, drawn out death that had the soul fragment desperate for a way out.

The only question was; would the magic in the stone interfere with the extraction and the destruction of the soul, help, or just wait for Ryuu to remove the fragment before attacking him as well? Ryuu passed this information along to those watching along with his supposition that if he held off the extraction in order to study the stone's magic Dumbledore would die as his magic would most likely be completely drained by the time Ryuu unlocked the secrets of the ring.

Five minutes later, his father gave him permission to continue (after a rushed debate with the wizards that were there was well) and warned him to be extra careful. Ryuu nodded and didn't hesitate to tell his father that he loved him and promised that he'd be take care not to take any unnecessary risks. Ryuu then slipped his cherry wand back into the holster on his right arm and fully opened his connection to the wild magic surrounding him.

As had happened the last two times he'd extracted a soul fragment (from the diadem and his scar) his spiritual power interacted and drew upon his magical core and the swirling energies coalesced around him to form a spectral dragon made of translucent gold. Unexpectedly, his recently acquired third wand also began reacting to the gathering magic and the death magic embedded in the wand (by death himself when the wand was created) rose from the wand and a second spectral figure rose up out of the shadows of the room.

Those watching inside the observation room gasped in concern as the shadowy figure slowly took on the vague form of what each of those present believed represented the god of death; for Takashi and Hatake they saw one of the shinigami, for Pomfrey and McGonagall (whom Pomfrey had sent a message to informing her of what was going on) they saw the grim reaper, Shaman Rabinur saw a kinoly, and Flitwick (who'd spotted Hatake on his way to prepare the chamber and tagged along to help and watch) saw Odin One-Eye (the Norse god of poetry, battle, and death).

The watchers could do nothing at this point though because the wards of the room would prevent them from entering the chamber but they could warn Ryuu; which Takashi promptly did. Ryuu saw his father's warning about the shadowy figure to his side but Ryuu did not see the specter of death that the others saw; he simply saw a dark figure watching him intently. He told his father the figure didn't seem to mean him harm and then promptly dismissed its presence (courtesy of a small mental nudge from the shadowy figure who was only there because of his connection to both the wand that Ryuu carried and the stone in the ring currently resting on Dumbledore's finger).

Once the spectral dragon that represented both his soul and his magic was fully formed, Ryuu ordered it to pull the tainted curse from Dumbledore's arm back into the cursed ring while at the same time stripping the corrupted soul's hold on Dumbledore's magic and life force without disturbing the magic lurking in the stone.

The dragon immediately complied, reaching through Dumbledore's hand and the ring with its claws before grasping onto the insidious curse where it had attached itself to Dumbledore's magic and flesh. The dragon then began slowly pulling the curse back into the ring like a sailor hauling an anchor up from the depths of the ocean; steadily hauling in the rope hand over hand. It took nearly three full hours for Ryuu to pull the dark magic from Dumbledore's hand through the magical spirit dragon made from his magic, spiritual power, and the wild magic he'd pulled to him.

Once the taint had been removed from the wizard's body and the tendrils of corrupted magic severed from their leaching connection to his magical core, Ryuu pulled the ring from the Headmaster's hand using the dragon with a simple thought. The ring resisted, or rather the shard of soul within the ring resisted for a moment before the chiming sound of metal striking stone filled the chamber as the ring dropped onto the floor. Next, the dragon lifted Dumbledore from the floor and to the astonishment of those watching, pushed the elderly wizard's unconscious body through both the stone walls and wards of the room and placed him out of harm's way.

It was a feat that would have been thought impossible if they had not seen it with their own eyes while Ryuu thought nothing of it; believing that the castle had simply accommodated his wish to move the aged wizard out of the way so he could focus on the horcrux and the foul magic he could still feel resonating from the ring. Once he was alone with the ring (not counting the living manifestation of his magic and soul or the spectral figure that was watching him) Ryuu turned his attention to the ring sitting so innocently on the floor.

"Once I've dealt with you I will be only three steps away from destroying the monster that created you," Ryuu told the soul fragment within the ring. "I look forward to the day when I can send the final fragment of your soul to hell where it belongs."

Unseen by Ryuu, but in full view of his watchers, Death's specter smiled malevolently at the ring before it reached out and pulled on the death magic inside of the stone. The figure then solidified a fraction more as the two strands of the same magic bonded together after centuries of separation. At the same time, Ryuu began the process of extracting the soul fragment and dark magic from the ring; carefully ordering his magical and spiritual energy to leave the other magic untouched as he had no desire to fight two difference magics at once.

He was a touch shocked then when he discovered that the magic in the stone had vanished completely as the dragon's claws extracted the severely weakened soul fragment in record time.

_Remove the tainted core from the soul fragment,_ Ryuu thought as he shoved his questions and concerns over the absent magic from his mind as the dragon forcefully removed the portion of Voldemort's magical core from the piece of soul it held in its hands. A feeble scream split the air, testament of how weak the fragment had become from fighting the seemingly destructive magics in the stone of the ring since the horcrux had been created in nineteen-forty-five (when Riddle had killed his father and paternal grandparents) and the long fight it had put up as Ryuu's magic pulled it from Dumbledore.

Even though it was the largest fragment Ryuu had cleansed to date (not counting the diary fragment that was destroyed or the original fragment that he'd wounded) it was also the easiest fragment to deal with. A blast of magical dragon fire from the dragon aura surrounding Ryuu cleansed the tainted core shortly after the piece of soul died and disappeared. The fragment of Voldemort's core than unraveled within seconds as it was absorbed by Ryuu's core as the dragon began breaking apart into the individual magics and power that had given it birth.

Exhausted, Ryuu sank to his knees beside the now harmless ring as the chamber's wards began clearing the excess ambient magic from the air. The somewhat insubstantial shadow of the spectral being that had been in the room with Ryuu the entire time fell across the teen a moment later and Ryuu looked up into the indistinct face of the youkai like being standing above him.

"You are an annoying little brat," the being declared in a rough voice that sounded like iron nails being dragged along a chalkboard and the crashing of a rock slide at the same time. "And to make it worse you have just claimed the final piece of the Peverell Legacy which means that you are completely outside of my control."

"Ano… anone… but I have no idea what you are talking about or even who you are," Ryuu tentatively pointed out as he unconsciously reached up to grab the hilt of one of his swords with his right hand while his left reached towards the elder wand in his pocket.

"Your weapons and your magic are useless against me for I am already dead," the being announced as he noted Ryuu's not so subtle attempt to arm himself. "I am not here to harm you; I am here because you called me here."

"I called no one."

"Your magic called upon me," the being insisted. "I am a part of your magic now and when you called upon all of your magic you called upon me. Once you reunite the cloak with the wand and the stone I will be complete and I will be yours to command as the laws that bind the Hallows dictate."

"Who exactly are you and what are you talking about? What cloak? What stone? Which wand? And what are these hallows you speak of?"

"You truly do not know?" the being inquired in astonishment; his voice losing some of the earlier harshness as it stared at Ryuu as if it had never seen a human before. "How… strange… and unexpected. I can not tell you what the Hallows are or what they represent; you must find that out on your own. All I can tell you is that you now control all three of them. As to whom I am…? I am an Avatar of Death and I am bound to serve he who claims all three Hallows. You have touched the Cloak but have not yet fully claimed it as yours as you have the Wand of Destiny and through the wand you have bound the Resurrection Stone to your magic."

"Avatar of Death… a shinigami? Stone? What stone? Do you mean the stone set in the ring? Are you saying that you are the magic that was slowly killing the horcrux Voldemort placed in the ring?"

"You could liken me to a shinigami or the grim reaper," Death's Avatar agreed. "Those who see me will see what they believe to be a representation of death while you will see me as I am once you have united all three Hallows. And yes, I was born of the fragment of magic that is bound to the Stone as well as the fragment of magic that binds the Elder Wand to you."

"What happens now?" Ryuu asked as he slowly let his hand fall from the hilt of his sword as he cast a brief glance at the ring sitting on the floor before looking up at the avatar once more.

"Now I leave you until you next have need of my services," Death's Avatar declared before it lost structure and separated into two smoke colored clouds that retreated into the stone and the wand.

"That has to at least rate as a nine on the Weird-Shit-O-Meter-of-My-Life," Ryuu muttered as he unconsciously reached out and picked up the ring. He immediately felt the connection to the magic in the stone that the avatar had spoke of and he couldn't completely suppress shiver that ran down his spine as the fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"Ryuu-kun, are you alright?" Hatake demanded as the door burst open and all of the watchers, minus Pomfrey who had taken Dumbledore back up to the infirmary, rushed in with their wands drawn except his father who didn't have a wand.

"I think so, oji; just a little shaken and more than a little exhausted because the tainted magic had a deeper hold on Dumbledore's magic than I original believed it had," Ryuu replied as he lifted his eyes from the emblem carved on the black stone set in the ring. "Was Pomfrey-sama able to heal Dumbledore-san once the taint had been removed?"

"I don't see any reason why she wouldn't have been able to," Flitwick answered. "She removed him to the infirmary the moment you'd pushed him from the room."

"Are we done here? Can we go now?" Ryuu asked tiredly as he tucked the ring into his right pocket; keeping it well away from the wand he'd taken from Dumbledore so as not to accidentally call the avatar back.

"Madam Pomfrey ordered us to bring you up to the Hospital Wing once you were finished so she could make certain you suffered no ill effects from the extraction," McGonagall stated in a no nonsense tone that had Ryuu's shoulders slumping in resignation since he knew the healer would at least keep him overnight to make certain he truly was perfectly fine. "Cheer up, Mr. Natsume; I'm certain it won't be all that bad if you are only suffering from mild exhaustion as you claim."

"It's not the healing and overnight stay in the infirmary that I'm concerned with," Ryuu groaned as he allowed his father to help him to his feet. "It's the fact that there is a possibility that I'll still be in the infirmary when Dumbledore-san regains consciousness and I really am not in the mood to deal with him right now. I'm still angry at him for what he said the day I left amongst other mistakes and poor decisions he's made."

"Don't worry, kiddo, we won't leave you to face him alone," Hatake assured Ryuu as the group headed towards the hidden passageway that would take them back up to the infirmary.

"Fine," Ryuu muttered petulantly. "But if he accuses me of going dark again I reserve the right to break his nose, both his legs, and zap him with my Shock Staff."

"Noted," Hatake dryly acknowledged while Takashi chuckled darkly in complete agreement with his son; his reaction letting the older wizard know that the non-magical father would probably either be cheering Ryuu on if he attacked Dumbledore outright for falsely accusing him a second time or be there helping the teen take the aged wizard down a peg or two.

Madam Pomfrey hustled Ryuu into his usual bed the moment she spotted him walking into the Hospital Ward with Ryuu grumbling in Japanese under his breath the entire time about overprotective and domineering healers. Luckily, Pomfrey didn't understand more than a word or two of Japanese other wise he'd have ended up with his ears being boxed and his mouth washed out. The next half hour was spent sitting through an extensive barrage of diagnostic spells and drinking down six different potions, the last of which was a mild sedative that knocked Ryuu, Shinjin, and Tenji out for the next eight hours.

Ryuu woke up to the feeling of eyes watching him and he tensed as he sent his magical senses out to scan the area for nearby magical signatures and the warmth of body heat. When he came across the feeling of warmth immediately beside his bed without the electricity of a magical signature, he knew it was his father sitting beside his bed watching him and Ryuu smiled as he rolled over to face his father. Takashi jumped a bit, he'd thought his son was sleeping, before he smiled in return and moved closer.

"Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Okay… I guess," Ryuu replied as he sighed and lifted himself up so he was propped on his elbow.

"That good, huh?"

"Physically I feel fine, tousan. Mentally and emotionally…? I'm exhausted. Magically I feel… wired as if I've had too much sugar and caffeine. And that's not even counting how confused I am still about everything that happened during and after the extraction."

"Ah… I see. What is it you are worried about? You didn't have any nightmares while you slept, did you?"

"No… I don't remember even dreaming; I suspect Pomfrey-sama added a tablespoon of Dreamless Sleep to the mild sleeping potion she gave. It tasted just the tiniest bit off for it to be a normal sleeping potion. But I wasn't worried about that; I know Pomfrey-sama was just making certain I got enough rest. I'm worried about what he'll say and do once he wakes up," Ryuu replied as he flicked his hand in Dumbledore's direction, the bearded wizard still clearly sleeping. "And I don't know what to make of what the shadowy avatar said about Hallows and what not."

"Don't worry about Dumbledore-san, there's nothing he can do to you; he now owes you a life debt," Hatake assured Ryuu as he joined the conversation for the first time; the wizard having been cat-napping on the bed behind Takashi where Ryuu hadn't been able to see him without his glasses. "And I'm certain you'll be turning the library at the academy inside out to find everything you need to know about the Hallows as soon as we return."

"Iie… not going to bother with the library," Ryuu denied as he pushed himself up into a sitting position and grabbed his glasses off the nearby nightstand. "As much as I dislike the feeling that I am cheating; I'm going to use the diadem to get the answers to this riddle once we get back home."

"And if the diadem doesn't have the answers?"

Ryuu dropped his chin down and stared at his uncle over the top of his glasses with one eyebrow arched in disbelief and exasperation.

"Right… forget I even asked," Hatake quickly retracted as he blushed.

"Can we go now?" Ryuu asked before he transformed into his animagus form and stood up on his hind legs with his forepaws tightly clasped as he pleaded at them with his bright green eyes.

"Whose idea was it again to allow him to learn how transform into something cute and fluffy?" Takashi asked as he glanced behind him to look at Hatake who was trying not to look at the silently pleading red panda sitting on the bed.

The next thing Takashi knew, Ryuu had leapt from the bed and landed lightly on his lap before snuggling up to him, still glancing up at him with those pleading green eyes. Tiny paws clung to his shirt as Ryuu's eyes grew wider and brighter as if shimmering with unshed tears, little whimpering mewling sounds escaping as he tugged gently on his father's shirt. Takashi sighed as he tweaked one of Ryuu's fuzzy ears before tapping him on the nose twice with a finger.

"We'll go as soon as Pomfrey-sama says you can go…"

The change in Ryuu's expression was instantaneous as he went from pleading to triumphant before he dashed up Takashi's chest to perch on his shoulder before he spring boarded off of his father and landed on his unofficial uncle. The mischievous teen in panda's fur then proceeded to climb all over Hatake as the man tried to catch him. Once the gray-haired wizard was motivated enough to give chase, Ryuu led him over and under the beds throughout the infirmary; intentionally leading the older wizard on a merry chase all the while chittering happily.

Takashi couldn't help but laugh as he watched his son happily playing for the first time in a long time; the teen turned mammal currently winding his way up Hatake's leg and back before shoving off the older wizard's head to land lightly on his father's shoulder again before launching himself off again. They'd been at it for nearly a half an hour before Ryuu suddenly slid to a stop in the middle of the floor and rose up on his hind legs as his ears swiveled forwards and backwards. His uncle made a grab for him while he was standing there but Ryuu dodged it at the last second and snickered as he heard his uncle curse under his breath.

He noted Hatake pulling out his wand and quickly made a bee-line back to his bed where he promptly dove beneath the covers just as Madam Pomfrey entered the room carrying a heaping breakfast tray; her imminent arrival being what had made Ryuu stop playing around in the first place. The healer had taken one look at Hatake's wand and at the red panda peering nervously out from the covers on Ryuu's bed and immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"Mr. Hatake I am ashamed of you, casting spells on Mr. Natsume while he is my patient!" Pomfrey ranted as she glared at the gray-haired wizard who'd frozen with a look of sure shock on disbelief on his face at the sudden turn of events. "Do you have any idea how much damage you could have done fooling around like that? Shoo! Go on… shoo!"

"But… but…"

"Go! Go on!" Madam Pomfrey insisted as she practically pushed him out the door before rounding on Takashi who was struggling not to laugh. "And you, Mr. Natsume, this is no laughing matter! Why did you not stop him? I realize your son wasn't seriously injured but still… I thought you of all people would have prevented such foolishness. I've half a mind to kick you out as well."

"Tousan is laughing because Hatake-oji didn't do anything," Ryuu answered as he transformed back into his human self while grinning cheekily up at the now shocked healer; she hadn't known he was an animagus since Ryuu hadn't bragged about his status or even used it much while in the castle because he hadn't wanted word of it to spread. "It was my fault because my magic felt… frisky and I needed to burn off the excess energy."

Shaking her head and huffing with exasperation, Madam Pomfrey set about scanning Ryuu's health and magic as she pushed the breakfast tray into his hands. A few minutes later, she declared him fit enough to leave (once he ate) and warned him to stay out of trouble before she went to check on Dumbledore who had not yet woken. Ryuu followed the healer with his eyes for a moment before he dug into the food on the tray, gladly sharing with his father as his uncle snuck back into the ward with a look on his face that promised retribution. Ryuu just flashed him a grin and snickered at what he considered to be a masterfully executed if unplanned prank.

After he finished eating and changed back into his regular clothes, Ryuu followed his father and uncle out of the ward and through the halls of the ancient stone castle; his thoughts once again returning to the shade that had appeared during the cleansing ritual. They'd just about reached the entrance hall when they ran into Ryuu's second least favorite teacher (Umbridge having earned the title of least favorite ever since she'd attacked Luna).

Normally, Ryuu would have just walked on by the unhygienic and overly caustic wizard but the reek of dark magic pouring off of him had Ryuu stopping in his tracks as he took in the man's condition. Snape's robes were torn, or rather shredded, and covered in blood, bodily waste, and other disgusting fluids, his face was a mass of bruises, his entire body was shaking like a leaf in a violent storm, and it was readily apparent he was close to dying.

"Please… please I beg you," Snape rasped as his eyes latched onto Ryuu's from where he'd been lying on the floor for who knew how long. "There is no one else I can turn to… anything… anything at all… just please? Please help me."

That was all the man managed to say before he succumbed to his injuries and Ryuu closed his eyes and sighed. He had a choice; he could send for Madam Pomfrey and leave the man who'd hated him from the moment his identity had been revealed or he could honor the dying man's request and help him. A brief brush of his magic against the wounds that littered the man's body was enough to tell him that Madam Pomfrey had no hope of curing the many injuries the man had suffered due to the sheer amount of dark magic involved and how far gone the man already was. She'd most likely send a request for him to help once she'd done what she could anyway and Ryuu knew by then it would be too late.

"Why can my life never be simple?" Ryuu asked rhetorically as he pulled his flute out and summoned another three phoenixes. "Oji, will you please speak to Yamamoto-shishou about this latest development? Tousan, I'm going to send you home because I know okaasan is going to be worried about us. I'm going to take Snape-san to Inoue-sama because Pomfrey-sama has enough on her plate with Dumbledore-san and I got the impression that Snape-san did not wish to remain here. He would not have begged for my help if he'd thought Dumbledore and Pomfrey could help him. I doubt he was even aware that Dumbledore was recently injured and near death himself because based upon his condition he's been tortured for a day or two at least."

"Be careful, son," Takashi replied as he gave Ryuu's shoulder a squeeze; knowing full well that Ryuu wouldn't ignore the wizard's desperate plea regardless of their past difficulties.

"We'll meet you in the Infirmary as soon as we can," Hatake added as he nodded to the teen.

Ryuu watched both men disappear in a flash of ice and lightning as the two elemental phoenixes carried them away. He then knelt down beside Snape and using his cherry wand bandaged the worst of the man's wounds before he grabbed hold of Snape's arm while at the same time reaching up with his other hand for the final phoenix to grab hold of him and a moment later he disappeared in a cloud of sand. Shinjin muttered out a small complaint, the small phoenix jealous and put out that Ryuu wouldn't allow her to flash him anywhere (because she was technically still too young), as they reappeared in the middle of the Academy's Hospital Ward.

"Inoue-sama!" Ryuu called loudly as the sand phoenix disappeared in a second cloud of sand.

"Coming," the healer called back from his office. "What seems to be the… Natsume-kun? What happened?"

"I don't know exactly," Ryuu replied as he stepped back to give the healer room to take charge of the dying wizard. "We were on our way out of the castle when we stumbled across him bleeding out all over the entrance hall and he begged me to help him. He… I got the impression that he didn't wish me to take him up to Pomfrey-sama; so I brought him here because I didn't know what else to do for him. He reeks of dark magic but he's currently far too close to death for me to do anything about it. Can you help him until I can remove the dark magic?"

"I'll do what I can but I make no promises," Inoue replied as he worked. "You probably bought him a couple of hours just by reducing his blood loss with the bandages you spelled onto his wounds. Fetch me six Blood Replenishers, two Strengthening Solutions, a Nutrient Potion, and a Magical Rejuvenator from the potions cabinet please. I'll also need one vial of the general healing potion and one of the internal healing potions."

Ryuu didn't hesitate to go collect the requested potions, leaving Shinjin on the bed Snape had been moved into as the small phoenix began trilling a soothing song that helped calm the rising tension in the ward. Recalling the man's shaking and his desperate pain filled eyes, Ryuu also grabbed one of the Cruciatus Antidotes that Inoue had started keeping on hand since the end of Ryuu's third year. Inoue gave Ryuu a sharp look when he noted the extra potion but said nothing as he began administering the potions, starting with the rejuvenator. While he was doing that, he had Ryuu start cleaning and re-bandaging the worst of the wounds on Snape's arms and legs while he tended to the ones on the man's chest and back.

Ryuu worked diligently as he cleaned out the numerous wounds, gagging when he inadvertently discovered that the older wizard had been messily castrated. When he finished, Ryuu stepped back and waited for more instructions as Inoue moved on to heal the many broken bones he'd found as well as some of the worst of the internal damage. Ryuu cringed more than once at the sound of bones popping and snapping back into place as the spells did their job. He was just heading back to the cabinet to grab another vial of the general healing potion when Yamamoto strode into the infirmary with Hatake on his heels; both wizards looking exceedingly grim.

"What were the patient's injuries and current status, Inoue-sama?" Yamamoto inquired as he stopped beside the bed and stared down at the unconscious man.

"Multiple gashes caused by dark cutting curses, numerous broken bones, severe damage to internal organs, suspected exposure to the Cruciatus and other dark pain curses, massive bruising, and severe blood loss. He is also suffering from severe magical exhaustion. We've cleaned most of his open wounds, stopped almost all of the external bleeding, set the numerous breaks, and I'm in the process of dealing with his internal injuries and bleeding. Natsume-kun's aide has been invaluable as it allowed me to focus on the more serious injuries. He is currently unconscious, possibly in a coma, and his body is in severe shock due to his injuries. I hope to have him stabilized within an hour or two at most so that the dark magic can be leeched from his injuries."

"I see, keep me informed of any changes in his condition," Yamamoto instructed before he abruptly turned to face Ryuu. "You are sufficiently recovered from dealing with yesterday's emergency? (Ryuu nodded) You are also certain that you are willing to help this man after everything that happened this past year?"

"Hai, shishou," Ryuu replied. "Until he found out about my past he treated me with a measure of respect and while he lost what respect I once gave him because of his actions both after my past was revealed and after he helped Umbridge last year; I get the feeling that there is more to this than what we see. Snape is a prideful man very set in his ways, embittered by whatever his past holds, and given his abrupt change in attitude the moment it was revealed that I was born as Harry Potter he holds some serious grudges against my birth family. And yet he didn't ask for Dumbledore nor did he ask for Pomfrey; he begged me to help him after stating there was no one else he could turn to. He looked me right in the eye and begged me for help despite our mutual dislike."

"You know he carries the Dark Mark?" Yamamoto asked after spending a moment digesting Ryuu's logic.

"Yes… his name was specifically mentioned by Voldemort in the graveyard," Ryuu replied tightly; the reminder making his stomach churn. "That is the other reason I am choosing to help him. He has information on what Voldemort is currently doing and while he may not know everything the Dark Lord is up to he will certainly be able to tell us how Voldemort is reacting to the contents of the prophecy (I really need to find that receiver so I can view those memories from the orb). He might also be able to give us names and locations of other Death Eaters and possible locations the Dark Lord could be hiding."

"I am glad that you are looking beyond the surface and thinking about more than just your personal feelings in this and in your willingness to aide Dumbledore despite the lingering anger I know you feel towards my colleague," Yamamoto declared with no small amount of pride in his voice. "Inoue-sama, do you still need Natsume-kun's help or can you spare him so that one of the chambers below can be prepared for the extraction ritual?"

"I should be fine now that the worst of the damage has been dealt with, shishou," Inoue replied without pausing in his spell casting. "Although, if Natsume-kun doesn't mind, I'd appreciate it if his phoenix could remain as I believe her presence and her song are both helping to stabilize the patient."

"I don't mind and I don't think Shinjin minds either," Ryuu stated with a small shrug.

Ryuu then followed Yamamoto and Hatake out of the Infirmary as they lead the way down to the dungeons to prepare one of the protected chambers for him to use to extract the dark magic from Snape's wounds. They had just entered the dungeons when Ryuu paused and called Dobby as his mind returned once again to the words of the shade. Both Yamamoto and his uncle appeared a little confused when the elf popped into the corridor a moment later.

"Master Ryuu-sama, called for his Dobby?"

"Hai, Dobby-kun, I need for you to let Luna know that I'm back but that I will be busy for a while longer yet and collect Tenji from her for me. After that I'd like you to bring me the diadem out of my trunk," Ryuu instructed.

"Right away, Master Ryuu-sama," Dobby replied enthusiastically as he vanished once again.

"Any particular reason you need the crown right now?" Hatake inquired with a frown.

"To get answers," Ryuu answered as he began walking once more.

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Ano – Ah or um (also means that)  
>Anone – Excuse me<br>Shinigami – death god, grim reaper

**Translations:** Malagasy (language of Madagascar) to English

Kinoly – a type of angatra (ghosts of the dead) are supposed to be ghosts or spirits that look human with red eyes and long (claw like?) fingernails that go around disembowel living people. (Source is Wikipedia under Malagasy Mythology).

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Another busy chapter with Dumbledore making the same mistake he'd made in canon with the Ring. Ryuu's recovered from his out-of-body experience and while I'm certain a few readers would have liked to have seen that scene included in the story, I couldn't get it to flow properly and so cut it out early on. I will be considering adding it as an omake at a later time if I can get it cleaned up properly or at least get it readable; no promises though. _

_Anyhow, the next chapter will deal with Snape's cleansing, more on the Deathly Hallows, and I think on the background of what made Snape the man he is today. My head is all stuffed up again so I can't remember if Snape's background is in the next chapter or the one after; either way he'll be dealt with soon. Thank you to everyone who left a review; they have all been appreciated (well except for the flames but those have been few and far between for this story). Anyway, next chapter will be posted in a day or two. ~ Jenn_


	47. When Myths and Legends Come to Life

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 46: When Myths and Legends Come to Life<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan  
>July 1996 ~ August 1996<em>

Ryuu thanked Dobby as the house elf reappeared with Tenji, the requested diadem, and a written reply from Luna. He shifted Tenji up onto his right shoulder, looped the crown over his wrist as he opened the scroll from Luna, and smiled over the short and very sweet note she'd written to him. He then rolled the note back up and tucked it into his pocket before he took the diadem in his hands and sighed at the magical artifact that had inserted itself into his life.

Sighing a second time, Ryuu shoved aside his belief that using the diadem's vast storage of knowledge was 'cheating' and, for the second time since he'd cleansed the crown (the first time being when he'd consulted the diadem about removing the horcrux from his scar), placed said crown on his head. He shivered as he felt the magic of the diadem reaching deeper into his core and had to force himself not to pull the crown from his head and throw it across the hall. Taking a deep breath in order to center himself, he reluctantly opened his mind to the magic of the crown and asked it about the Hallows.

He stumbled over his feet as the entire story of the Deathly Hallows poured into his mind followed by a detailed history of the Peverell family. Wide eyed he stumbled to a stop and leaned against the nearest wall as he pulled both the Elder Wand and the Resurrection Stone from his pockets and stared at them as he processed the information he was being given; Tenji protesting loudly as the kneazle dug his claws into Ryuu's shoulder in order to maintain his perch). When he drew the connections between the Cloak of Invisibility and the cloak that he'd received in his first year he was more than a little startled as he'd never bothered trying the cloak on and therefore had never known it was special beyond the fact that it had belonged to his birth father.

Now that he knew what the Hallows were and their history, the next logical question for Ryuu to ask was how they were meant to be used. Sure, the cloak was worn, the wand could cast spells, and the stone supposedly recalled the dead; but logically there had to be more to them than just that. There was, and Ryuu's eyes tried to pop out of his head as the diadem gave him very detailed instructions on how they could be used individually and how they were rumored to work when one person had mastered all three items.

It also went on to say that no one person had ever before held possession of all three pieces of the Hallows and that there may as of yet be undiscovered benefits. After that the diadem went silent as Ryuu slipped down the wall and started laughing hysterically as tears slipped from the corners of his eyes; his mind slightly overwhelmed by the possibilities that had been placed at his fingers tips by mere chance.

"Ryuu?" Hatake asked in concern as he crouched down beside the now borderline hysterical teen.

Ryuu immediately stopped laughing as he noted the worry in his uncle's eyes and sighed as he lifted the diadem from his head and passed it to his uncle, "Put it on and ask it about the Deathly Hallows; their history, the facts, and what it means when you hold all three." Ryuu then climbed shakily to his feet as he shoved both wand and ring back into his pockets and once again headed down the corridor, his footsteps shaky as he tried to regain his equilibrium. "Which room did you wish for me to use, Yamamoto-shishou?"

"Sixty-three," Yamamoto replied. "It has most all of the wards already installed except for the Overload Absorption Ward. May I… would you allow me to access the information on the Hallows when Hatake-san is finished?"

"Of course, shishou," Ryuu replied. "I will be in room sixty-three adding the final ward if you wish to question me when you are finished."

Five minutes later, Ryuu was calling Dobby again; asking for the little elf to bring him his carving kit before heading back to his room in Takashima Town to get the Cloak of Invisibility out of the box of mementos that he had stored up in his closet. Thirty seconds later, he pulled out his favorite hammer and chisel from his carving kit and began integrating the runes for the Absorption Ward into the rest of the ward schemes that had been placed around the room. He'd only been working for about ten minutes when Dobby reappeared and placed his biological father's cloak on the floor in the center of the room beside a lounging Tenji and Ryuu only glanced at the cloak briefly before he thanked the elf for his efforts.

When his uncle and the Headmaster joined him ten minutes later, Ryuu glanced up in time to see his uncle toss the diadem back to him and Ryuu caught it reflexively before gently setting it on the floor beside the cloak. The eyes of the two older wizards automatically followed Ryuu's hand and they both gave a startled jump when they realized what was sitting on the floor beside the slim gold crown. Hatake then grew pensive while Ryuu went back to his rune carving and after several minutes where the only sound heard was the gentle tapping of the hammer on the handle of the chisel and the sound of cracking stone his uncle broke the silence.

"Who do you want to be the Secret Keeper for this one?"

Ryuu's hands stilled as he contemplated the question and the intent behind the unspoken order. He then shrugged and continued carving the rune he was working on before turning to face his uncle to reply, "Do you really need to ask? You know I trust you explicitly… just as I trust otousan explicitly only he can't serve as a Secret Keeper because he doesn't have the magic required to bind the secret to his soul." He glanced down at the tools in his hands for a moment before he softly added, "So, as long as you don't mind holding a couple of more secrets for me, I'd prefer that you are my Secret Keeper."

"Gaki, you already know I have no issues holding your secrets for you."

"We should probably add the knowledge that I'm an animagus into that list as well," Ryuu added thoughtfully as he checked his work and carved the next rune in the sequence. "That information is too easily leaked since anyone who has seen me could accidentally let it slip. Is it the ownership of the Hallows you wanted to secure or the existence of the Hallows completely?"

"Just the current ownership of all three and the knowledge that the Potters were descended from the Peverells," Hatake confirmed. "Too many people are likely aware that the Hallows exist as it is a wizarding fairy tale; at least as a myth or legend. And I should have considered sealing the secret of your ability to transform the moment you mastered the change but I didn't think it all that important because you openly registered with the Japanese Magistrate's Office while leaving the British Ministry in the dark. Did you wish to do those now?"

"Let me finish carving the wards first; since Snape will be stable enough for the extraction in about an hour or so," Ryuu insisted after considering the question. "And I'd prefer to do the Fidelius in a different room since I don't know how the magic of that spell will interfere with the extraction ritual."

Forty-two minutes later, Ryuu tucked his hammer and chisel back into his carving kit and began the tedious process of cleaning up the stone chips scattered throughout the room by wand. Once he finished with that, he gathered up the two magical artifacts and his feline familiar from the center of the room so he could hose the entire room down with warm water from his wand. The last thing he did was activate the self-cleaning and neutralizing wards built into the schemes so that the room would be clean and free of excess magic when Inoue brought Snape down for his cleansing.

A quick call to Dobby saw the diadem returned to its place in Ryuu's trunk in his dorm room and a Strengthening Solution, a Pepper-Up Potion, and plate of sandwiches brought for Ryuu so he could regain a bit of energy. After he finished eating and took his two potions, Ryuu stepped into room sixty-two (directly across the hall from room sixty-three) where he slipped the invisibility cloak around his shoulders for the first time after setting Tenji back down on the floor as Hatake and Yamamoto watched him.

He felt distinctly uncomfortable as most of his body vanished from sight but he did his best to ignore the feeling as he pulled the Elder Wand from his pocket along with the Resurrection Stone. The moment he was touching all three Hallows, the death magic imbedded in the three powerful artifacts poured forth from them and coalesced into the Avatar of Death. And this time Ryuu could finally see the being clearly.

He'd expected the avatar to be male based upon its voice from the day before so he was more than a bit shocked to see instead a female that stood about five feet tall. A hauntingly beautiful and ageless woman with black feathered wings that were larger and longer than she was tall, long black hair that hung freely down to the back of her knees, and wore a full length gown of shimmering black gossamer silk that barely left anything to the imagination. Her body could be considered perfection, her curves ample but not overwhelming or out of proportion with her height and weight.

On her left hip she wore a curved cutlass that reminded Ryuu of the blades one often saw pirates using; the blade near the hilt no more than an inch and a half in width that gradually widened as you moved to the point of the blade, maxing out at just over four inches a hand's breadth from the tip which was less than a half inch wide and extremely sharp. The grip of the hilt was wrapped in black leather while the hand guard appeared to be made from the same material as the blade; which itself appeared otherworldly as it was dark gray in color and filled with swirling rainbows of metallic greens, blues, reds, and purples. Ryuu felt a shiver trace down his spine as he instinctively knew Death's Avatar was dangerously deadly despite (or maybe because) of her beauty.

"Master," the Avatar intoned as she bowed her head fractionally in Ryuu's direction, respectful but proud. Her voice sending more shivers down his back as it was smooth as silk and far more captivating than her physical beauty even as it alluded to a promise of death.

"You look different than I would have expected based on how you appeared yesterday," Ryuu murmured nervously as he tightened his grip on the Elder Wand while Tenji let out a soft growl as she took a single step closer to Ryuu.

"This is the form you have given me," Death's Avatar replied in the same harsh voice it had used the day before while her body shifted to that of a skeletal angel with bone like wings and ignored the antics of the kneazle. "I can appear differently if you wish."

"Ah… no that's alright… I um… think I actually prefer your previous look," Ryuu choked out as he took a step backwards and shifted his eyes away from the disturbing skeletal figure until it shifted back into the form of a dark and deadly angel.

"As you wish, Master," Death's Avatar replied.

"Do… do you have a name?"

"I have many names," the Avatar replied. "You may call me as you wish and I will respond."

"Then I shall call you Izanami," Ryuu stated as calmly as he could in the face of Death's Avatar.

"As you wish."

And with that the Angel of Death vanished and Ryuu sank to his knees as he felt the death magic sinking into his core as the bond between him and the Hallows solidified. He could now feel each of the Hallows and knew without a doubt that he would always know exactly where each of them were even if they were not in the same room; much as he knew where his familiars and the diadem were. Swallowing thickly, he reholstered the wand and placed the stone back in his other pocket before slipping the cloak from his shoulders as Tenji mewled and butted him with his head.

"Are you alright, kiddo?" Hatake asked as he approached Ryuu where he knelt on the floor.

"Iie… but I'll be fine in a bit. I'm mostly just shaken because she was not at all what I was expecting," Ryuu answered as he ran his hand along Tenji's back as glanced up at his uncle with wide eyes. "I don't know what is creepier; the fact that she is a small fraction of Death given form or the fact that she called me master. The connection between my magic and death's magic is going to take a while to get used to as is the basic idea that the Hallows are now bonded to my soul much in the same way my familiars are bonded to me. Now that I think about it, the diadem is bound to me the same way as well."

"That makes four new secrets to add to the collection that I keep for you," Hatake muttered as he ran a hand over the back of his neck. "We shouldn't let it be known that you recovered Ravenclaw's diadem."

"I can only cast two Fidelius on any given day," Yamamoto declared. "So you will have to decide which two are the most important secrets and prepare the wording so we can seal them. We can do the last two in a few days when I've recovered my strength unless you know someone else who can seal them for you."

"Two will be fine for the moment," Hatake mused as he glanced down at Ryuu who had sat back on his heels and dropped his head into his hands in order to center himself. "We'll worry about the Hallows and the diadem first since they are far more critical than the status of Ryuu's animagus ability or the Potters' ancestry. Just give us a few minutes to figure out how best to word them both and we can start."

Half an hour later, Yamamoto was being watched over by Dobby as the old wizard recovered after casting the two back to back Fidelius Charms. Hatake was feeling a little disoriented as well as his magic and soul slowly accepted the two new secrets that had been woven into his very being. That made a total of five secrets he now held for Ryuu; the teens magical index level, his status as a living focus, his ability to remove and cleanse dark magic, his ownership of the diadem, and his mastery and ownership of all three Hallows.

The gray-haired wizard briefly wondered if there was a limit to the number of secrets any one person could hold but he shoved it to the side figuring he could ask Ryuu to either ask the diadem for that information or if he could borrow the thing to do so himself.

"Otousan, okaasan, and Yamamoto-shishou will both need to be told both secrets when you are up to it," Ryuu softly requested as he sat down beside his uncle. "I'd also appreciate it if you told Luna the secret about the diadem as I have allowed her to use it in the past when she needed a little help researching for one of her projects. If she can't remember using it she won't be able to remember what she learned from it and will drive herself mad with worry about how she got the information she used in the project."

"I'll speak to each of them later tonight," Hatake promised. "How are you feeling? I know that spell pulls more from you than it did from shishou and myself; seeing as how the information I now hold is so tightly bound to your magical core and your soul."

"Tired but not overly drained and I'm also not feeling quite so overwhelmed by my new bond to the death magic," Ryuu answered honestly. "I'd really like to take a nap right now but Inoue-sama is on his way down here with Snape."

"How do you know?"

"I can feel Shinjin growing closer and the only reason she'd have left the Infirmary without me calling her is if Inoue-sama determined that Snape is stable enough for me to perform the extraction."

"Go use your time turner to take yourself back eight hours so you can sleep, use room sixty-one, and I will go wake you up in a few minutes," Hatake ordered.

Ryuu complied and before he knew it his uncle was shaking him awake and letting him know that Snape was waiting for him in room sixty-three. Nodding, Ryuu sat up and climbed to his feet before he lifted his time turner off and passed it to his uncle along with Tenji and all three Hallows so that they would not interfere with the ritual. He then quickly changed into his warded officer's uniform that he'd been carrying with him since he left Hogwarts and tucked his school uniform into the duffel bag and passed that to his uncle as well. Dobby popped in to pass him a couple of potions that Healer Inoue had given to the elf to give to him when the healer had taken over the care of the exhausted Headmaster.

Twelve hours later, Ryuu sat in the middle of room sixty-three looking like death warmed over as he waited for the wards to finish pulling the excess magic from the room. It had taken him close to ten hours to remove every last thread of dark magic from Snape's body; the sheer number of different signatures embedded into the tainted threads had astonished Ryuu and made his task that much harder because he'd had to lift each one individually. The cleansing had taken him some time as well because he'd had to fight to keep those two hundred some threads from getting free or worse trying to latch onto him.

The most difficult one he had to deal with by far was the dark magic that had been embedded in Snape's Dark Mark on his left arm. That one had taken nearly two hours to pull free from the potions master; as it had contained a degree of sentience through its connection to the Dark Lord's mutilated soul; though it was not an actual soul fragment (thankfully).

The door to the chamber opened and Ryuu numbly glanced up to see his uncle heading his way followed closely by Healer Inoue and he offered them a weak smile. A small part of him lamented over the fact that he'd be spending at least another night if not another two nights in the infirmary as he felt his uncle lift him from the floor. A bigger part of him agonized over the fact that it meant he'd now missed nearly a full week of classes and would be returning home a day late.

The only comfort he had over the lost class time was the fact that he knew his friends and girlfriend would have made it a point to gather copies of the lecture notes, a list of class assignments, and the assigned list of homework assignments for him so he could use the weekend to catch up. It helped that his instructors would allow him the opportunity to make up the work since they were all very familiar with Ryuu's work ethics and the fact that he rarely ever missed classes unless he was either seriously injured or there had been an outside emergency. The last thing Ryuu learned before he succumbed to his exhaustion was the information that Snape was no longer in critical condition and that the dour wizard was expected to regain consciousness in three to four days.

Ryuu ended up sleeping close to thirty-six hours straight, his body slowly recharging after the long drawn out struggle to heal Snape so soon after helping to heal Dumbledore, installing the final ward on the dungeon room, integrating his magic with death's magic from the Hallows, and having two secrets sealed away inside of his uncle. During that time there'd been several requests from Dumbledore for Ryuu to return to Hogwarts so he could speak to the teen that had been rebuffed by Takashi. Once Ryuu did wake up he still felt rather tired and drained but that was to be expected given everything he'd done in such a short amount of time. He ended up not going home at all that weekend; spending his time working on his overdue assignments in between visits from his friends and family.

The fifteen, nearly sixteen year old, was sitting in his bed working on the arithmancy equations and runes schemes he needed for his final project for his Masters Level Enchantment class when Snape finally regained consciousness on Sunday just after lunchtime. At the time, Ryuu had been completely engrossed in his calculations and therefore didn't see the older wizard slowly sit up in his bed and glance around the infirmary in confusion.

"_Where the hell am I!?_" Snape demanded in English.

"You are currently in the Infirmary of Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu," Ryuu automatically replied in Japanese without looking up from his work.

"_In English, Pot… Natsume,_" Snape ordered with a huff as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"_My apologies, Snape-san,_" Ryuu stated as he looked up from his work in surprise. "_I was not aware that you had finally regained consciousness. I said you are in the Infirmary at the Japanese Academy of Sorcery._"

"_Why am I here when I distinctly remember returning to Hogwarts?_"

"_What else do you remember from that day?_"

"_Not much… I was… in a considerable amount of pain at the time. By rights I should still be in pain. How long have I been here?_"

"_We found you bleeding all over the entrance hall of Hogwarts this past Tuesday, so you have been here for almost six days,_" Ryuu revealed as he leaned back and studied the still recovering wizard across the room from him. "_There was so much dark magic pouring from you and your wounds that I could taste the taint of it in the air from well over fifteen feet away. Just before you passed out, you… asked me to help you. At the time you gave me the impression that you didn't trust Pomfrey to heal you so I had you brought here where Healer Inoue has been treating you. _"

"_I see,_" Snape muttered as he glanced around the room looking more than a little lost. "_Why? Why did you help me after all that I have done the past two years?_"

"_Because I was the only one that could help you and you were obviously desperate. I can't tell you more than that. If you want specifics you will need to swear a specific oath before speaking to another individual who has the answers._"

"_Fidelius Charm?_"

"_Or it might just be someone I trust to scan your intentions because I am well aware that you are both a Master Occlumens and a Master Legilimens,_" Ryuu replied without giving anything away; he had no desire to see his uncle targeted for the secrets he held or to give away information that could be used against him by the individual across from him.

Snape looked as if he was going to be asking yet another question or two when Healer Inoue entered the room and immediately began scanning Snape and asking him dozens of questions about how wizard was currently feeling. Ryuu returned his attention back to his assignments, doing his best to block out the conversation taking place across the room. By the time the healer was finished with the normally caustic wizard, Snape was sleeping once again under the influence of a couple of potions.

"How are you feeling, Natsume-kun?" Healer Inoue inquired as he moved across the ward to check on the teen.

"Better, not quite so weak or tired," Ryuu replied. "How much longer is Snape-san going to need to stay here? I know Ashikaga-shishou wishes to interrogate him about how he ended up the way he did and why he was so intent on requesting my help."

"Another couple of days and I was already aware of Ashikaga Daisuke's request to take him into custody."

"Gomen nasai, Inoue-sama," Ryuu replied sheepishly. "Habit left over from last year I suppose."

"Don't worry about it, Natsume-kun," Inoue countered with a chuckle. "Why don't you gather up your things and get dressed; there's no reason for you to stay any longer."

"Hai, Inoue-sama."

Thirty minutes later, Ryuu was ensconced at his desk in the dorm room he shared with Neville; his friends and the other students not due back for a few hours yet. He had his assignments from the past week spread out over his desk and he spent a few minutes organizing them in order of difficulty, so he could work on the assignments that would take the longest first. Once he was ready, he dove back into his work in hopes that it would help him pass the time until he could see Luna again. His only company, aside from his thoughts, were his two familiars.

"Oi, Ryuu-kun! Time for supper!" Neville called as he stuck his head through the door.

"Okay!" Ryuu called back in response as he threw his quill down and scooped Shinjin off her perch on the way out the door (Tenji darting after him on foot); his excitement over seeing Luna again pushing all thoughts of cleaning up his desk out of his mind.

He was just passing through the door leading out into the hall outside of the common room when he felt his feet leave the floor as someone grabbed him by the back of his shirt. He used his forward momentum to swing his feet around so he could kick out at his attacker only to find himself lying on his back on the floor as whoever had grabbed him let go. Groaning, Ryuu looked up to find his honorary uncle smirking down at him.

"You seem to have forgotten that you and I were supposed to sit down and have a discussion about proper discretion when it comes to public displays of affection," Hatake stated as he gave Ryuu a rather predatory grin. "We're going to be having that discussion now."

"Hai," Ryuu replied unenthusiastically as he picked himself up off the floor while casting a longing look at the exit where he knew Luna was waiting for him.

Dejectedly, Ryuu gathered up his two familiars that had been knocked from their perches when Hatake had waylaid him, followed his uncle back to his dorm, and stood at attention in front of his chair once his uncle sat down. He sighed internally before wiping all emotion from his face as he waited for his uncle to say what he felt needed to be said.

"Now, despite all appearances I am not out to prevent you and Luna-chan from having a relationship," Hatake began. "In fact, I'm quite happy that the two of you have grown closer over the years as I see the positive effect she has on you. The problem is that the two of you are reaching that age where the two of you are going to have a lot of difficulty controlling your hormones. This is especially true for you; and it is not because you are the boy in the relationship or because you are the oldest. Patience, kiddo, I know you have questions but I'm not finished."

"The reason why you're going to have far more problems controlling yourself is because of your familiar bonds. Up until now you've managed because both of your familiars were fairly immature and you yourself weren't that interested in a physical relationship but that is going to change very quickly now that you and Luna are exploring your relationship and each other. The other problem is that Tenji has reached the point where he's naturally interested in female kneazles and cats; especially Himiko because she's his chosen mate. The little female kneazle has just reached three years of age which is considered the age of maturity for kneazle's."

"You're very lucky that magical familiars mature slower and tend to form monogamous relationships otherwise we'd have had to have this discussion years ago. And don't think I haven't noticed Tenji sniffing around Himiko more often now since she's reached her maturity and is nearing her first heat. When that time comes, you are going to have to learn how to separate Tenji's sexual drive from your own or you will end up hurting Luna by pushing her into something neither of you are quite ready for yet. You will also have to keep a tight leash on your own libido least you push Tenji over the edge and the two of you start bouncing your emotions off one another and you both lose complete control which would only end up hurting you, Luna-chan, and whoever else gets caught up in the moment."

Ryuu's face had slowly been turning a bright red throughout the entire conversation but as his uncle finally made his point the blood had drained from his face as he realized just how badly he could mess things up if he wasn't careful. A troubled mew from Tenji had him reaching up to give the kneazle a couple of reassuring scratches and pats to let the kneazle know he wasn't upset with the feline.

"I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt Luna-chan," Hatake gently added as he took in Ryuu's pale complexion. "Which is why I wanted to say something now so you'd be aware of what you were facing at some point in the near future. I think it best I teach you both the male and female versions of the contraceptive charm so that if, by chance, the two of you do end up going further than you intended you won't end up becoming parents on top of it until you are both ready to raise a child. If you two decide that you wish to marry, that is."

"How…? How am I going to warn Luna?" Ryuu asked hesitantly as he swallowed thickly. "We've not really talked much about… that… or where we want our relationship to go. I mean… I know I care deeply for Luna-chan and I'm certain of how I feel for her. I also know she cares for me very much in return but even I know that there is no guarantee that we'll still be together in two months let alone two or twenty years from now; even though I hope we are. I've never been very good at relating to other people though I know I've gotten better over the years and I've never really connected to anyone the way I did with Luna. What if I scare her off because of this? I don't know if I could make it without her, oji. She's the light that chases away the shadows in my heart and if I were to lose her I think it would destroy me; especially if it was because of something I did."

"Your mother actually spoke to her over the weekend," Hatake revealed with a brief smile meant to help Ryuu relax a bit. "They most likely spoke about the same things that you and I just spoke about because I warned both of your parents and Luna's father of what to expect; though I believe her father was already prepared for this moment since he was already familiar with the effects of a familiar bond. Longbottom-sama also offered to teach Luna the same spells I will be teaching you so that the both of you are prepared in the event you both lose control. Luckily, Luna-chan has not yet formed a familiar bond with Himiko or it would only be a matter of time before the connections drove you both over the edge. As it is, because your bond with Tenji is so strong it is going to be far harder for you to overcome the feelings and desires he will soon start sending through the bond."

"What about Shinjin? Will Tenji trigger her cycle sooner? I know phoenixes don't usually mature until they are five years old but she's already sped up her maturity because she was forced into her first burning day three years far too early. If Tenji pushes me, will I in turn push Shinjin?"

"I don't have an answer to you for that," Hatake replied sadly. "Dumbledore-san is the only one I know of who knows enough about the cycles of the phoenix to answer that and even he might not know because Fawkes is not only a different type of phoenix he is also male. Typically, wizards and witches bond with familiars that are the same gender as they are, though there have been exceptions; Shinjin being one. As much as you dislike using the diadem to get the answers you need, it might be best to see what you can learn from it before things get to that point. I also recommend that you sit down with Luna-chan soon and have a serious discussion about where you both want your relationship to go and what you want from your relationship. You can't expect to spend a lifetime together if you can't talk to one another about anything and everything; even the awkward and uncomfortable topics."

"Hai, oji."

"Try not to worry too much, I'm certain things will work themselves out in the end," Hatake assured the troubled teen as he climbed to his feet, ruffled Ryuu's perpetually messy hair, and left the room.

"Hai," Ryuu mumbled to the empty room as he absently scratched Tenji's chin and Shinjin nuzzled his cheek as he stood lost in thought.

After a while, he gravitated over to his desk and buried himself back in his homework as he tried to accept what he'd just learned about himself and his familiars. He also couldn't help but recall the few times he'd been completely lost in the kisses he'd shared with Luna and the almost overpowering feelings of desire that had swept through him and he wondered if he'd been influenced by Tenji even then. He had, after all, noticed the growing interest his kneazle familiar had been showing and giving the albino female. It wasn't long before he folded over and fell asleep on top of his assignments, his body still not quite fully recovered from the strain he'd put on it the week before.

* * *

><p>The rest of the summer term passed by fairly quickly as Ryuu threw himself into his schoolwork with a vengeance. He still spent a good portion of his free time with Luna but he'd withdrawn from her just a bit so he could come to terms with what he'd learned. The physical side of their relationship ground to a complete halt since he had no desire to hurt her by losing control and the results were evident as Ryuu became increasingly irritable while Luna slowly began closing down.<p>

On his birthday, which fell in the middle of the week this year, Ryuu finally pulled Luna aside and apologized to her for the way he'd been behaving (after a stern talking to by Satoshi who'd seen them both growing more miserable over the course of the month. When he admitted that he was frightened of hurting her and mentioned the talk he'd had with his uncle, Luna huffed at him and called him an idiot in three different languages. It probably would have degenerated into their first fight if Ryuu hadn't agreed with her and told her that Satoshi had already yelled at him for being a moron.

They spent more than two hours talking about what had happened, what they had felt, and eventually about what they really wanted from one another. Ryuu spoke of how much he feared losing her, how he didn't want to do something stupid to hurt her, and how much he loved her. Luna revealed that she'd been warned to expect him to withdraw a bit after Taki had spoken to her about what to expect because of his feelings and his familiar bond, how she'd tried not to let it get to her when he did, and how Satoshi had cornered her first to find out what had happened. She also told Ryuu that she'd loved him from the moment he'd rescued her that first Halloween night and she'd known they'd be together since that night as well.

Luna then weakly admitted that her family was distantly related to the Trelawneys and like Sybil Trelawney (the Divination professor at Hogwarts) was a minor seer with limited capabilities which allowed her to see the unseen spirits, see into the heart of a person's soul, and see her own future. She could not see other people's futures nor would she ever give a prophecy but if a person was meant to be part of her future she would know it instantly the moment they touched. She grew nervous over Ryuu's reaction because she was well aware of the fact that Ryuu had no love of divination or prophecies but Ryuu only pulled her close and kissed her temple as he told her he still loved her.

He also thanked her for not telling him sooner because he readily admitted it probably would have frightened him if he hadn't had the time to get to know her first and he would have doubted his own feelings for her if he hadn't been allowed to figure it out on his own. He then asked her who else knew about her talent and she admitted that her father knew because her mother had had a similar ability and she'd told Taki because she'd needed someone to talk to about the things she saw when she spent time with Ryuu.

Ryuu then tentatively suggested that she protect that knowledge with a Fidelius so that it couldn't be used against her, reminding her how several of his own secrets were protected in such a way. She agreed only after talking Ryuu into being her Secret Keeper, because she trusted him explicitly. Ryuu told her that he trusted her as well and the only reason he'd not asked her to be his Secret Keeper was because he hadn't wanted her to be a target because of him. He also told her it was easier to keep track of who was keeping what secret for him if they were all kept by the same individual. Yamamoto cast the charm for them a couple of days later (after obtaining permission from both of their parents).

Shortly after his birthday, Ryuu was called up to the Headmaster's office where he found Yamamoto, his father, Hatake, Healer Inoue, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Madam Pomfrey waiting for him. He'd walked into the room, taken one look at Dumbledore, and walked right back out; having no desire to listen to anything Dumbledore might have to say to him. He didn't get very far though because his father had come out after him and talked him into at least hearing what Dumbledore wanted before taking off. He reluctantly returned to the office, apologized to Yamamoto for being rude, and greeted everyone but Dumbledore.

It was petty and childish of him but Ryuu couldn't muster the energy to even pretend to be polite to him after all of the hurt he'd caused him.

It turned out that Dumbledore wanted to try and talk him into returning to Hogwarts for his final two years. Ryuu stared at the bearded wizard as if he'd lost his mind before he burst out laughing at the absurdity of willingly placing himself back under the control of a wizard that accused him of going dark. After a few minutes, Ryuu took the time to get his emotions under control before he shook his head and in a cold voice devoid of any emotion told him no.

When Professor Flitwick asked him why he didn't want to return, Ryuu answered truthfully by telling them that he had no desire to spend time trapped in a castle with a man who thought he was going dark. That caused a minor explosion as apparently Dumbledore hadn't told any of his staff members about the conversation that the Headmaster had had with Ryuu the day Ryuu left the castle and neither McGonagall nor Flitwick had heard Ryuu's comments about Dumbledore after he'd dealt with the soul fragment that had been killing Dumbledore. Ryuu almost took pleasure in pulling that memory from his mind as Dumbledore went a little green around the gills when Ryuu pulled out his Portable Projection Pensieve (which he now carried with him all the time in a mokeskin pouch) so everyone could view the memory.

Needless to say, Dumbledore found himself without any support after that point. He lost even more respect when Hatake made a comment about Dumbledore not even bothering to thank Ryuu for saving his life after the man foolishly allowed himself to be possessed by one of Voldemort's horcruxes. The once revered wizard fully aware of Ryuu's capabilities and the fact that he'd been the one to request Ryuu's help (along with Madam Pomfrey) making his omission all the more damning in the eyes of the other adults.

The final nail in the coffin though came when Snape handed the bearded wizard his resignation from both Hogwarts and Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore had tried to protest, stating that Snape's services were needed, only for Snape to reveal his unblemished left arm and tell the old wizard he was finished; Voldemort would believe him dead because the Dark Mark was gone. Snape then walked to stand behind Ryuu as he told Dumbledore that he no longer wished to be seen as a tool or a weapon by either side any longer.

Flitwick and McGonagall both told Ryuu they were sorry for everything that happened and that they would miss him before they dragged Dumbledore from Yamamoto's office. Madam Pomfrey stayed long enough to thank Ryuu again for his help and apologize for the Headmaster's behavior before she too left. When she opened the door everyone in the office could hear Dumbledore's loud protestation that he was the only one that could prevent Ryuu from going dark and how only he could teach the teen what he needed to know in order to defeat the Dark Lord.

Ryuu made to chase after the senile old wizard only for his father to hold him back and tell him that Dumbledore wasn't worth the trouble. Ryuu agreed but decided he had one last parting shot that needed to be said and he chased after the Hogwarts group. Once he caught up to them Ryuu looked right at Dumbledore and told the old wizard that the horcrux was gone, that it could have been removed nearly fifteen years earlier if he'd bothered to ask for help. He also told Dumbledore that if he'd bothered to have had Ryuu scanned, he would have discovered that the soul fragment would have never affected him because it hadn't been allowed to connect to his soul even if it had leeched magic from Ryuu's core each time Ryuu did any magic, accidentally or on purpose.

To prove it, Ryuu pulled out his cherry wand and conjured a dozen humming birds, making it a point to allow the four magicals to see the lack of reaction from the scar on the side of his face. A scar that had once lit up like a Christmas tree any time that Ryuu used his wand over the past five years he'd been attending Hogwarts; no matter how simple the spell or how little magic it used. A scar that was also slightly changed as the stylized 's' that had connected the first two sections of the scar had faded completely once the blackened mark had healed. Ryuu turned around and walked away after that, leaving the aged wizard with the knowledge that he'd been wrong about so many things.

When he returned to Yamamoto's office, Snape formally apologized to Ryuu for his behavior the previous two years, explaining how he'd been under orders from both Voldemort and Dumbledore to do as he did. The normally unpleasant wizard also thanked Ryuu for helping him even though he didn't have to and swore the same oath that the other wizards close to Ryuu had sworn. Snape then confessed that he'd hated Ryuu's biological father because they'd been rivals for his mother's affections and resented the man because he'd saved Snape's life when they'd still been in school.

He explained that the life debt he owned Ryuu's birth father had passed onto Ryuu when his father died and that the reason he'd been so angry and cruel to Ryuu when he learned who he was had been because the debt caused him pain the moment he knew he'd failed to protect Ryuu. He'd also revealed the fact that he'd given Dumbledore an Unbreakable Vow to protect Lily's son and he'd nearly lost his life because he hadn't known how to protect Harry Potter when he didn't know where Harry Potter was.

Ryuu interrupted Snape at that moment, asking him to give him a moment before he called Dobby and asked the elf to once again bring him the diadem. He had learned about life debts, oaths, and vows and the differences between all three shortly after his uncle had given him his oath after his second year (and after he learned about the life debt that the Weasleys owed him because he saved their youngest child) and knew that the magic involved in enforcing the debts, oaths, and vows would react if or when certain conditions were met.

So the fact that Snape was still alive was a bit of a shock considering that he'd been functioning under both a life debt and an Unbreakable Vow. He'd suspected there was more to the situation with Snape than just his injuries that day they found him dying in the entrance hall at Hogwarts and he'd just been proven correct. Once Ryuu had the diadem in hand, he settled it on his head as he concentrated on pulling as much information as he could from the crown about debts, oaths, and vows.

He then focused on Snape's specific situation for a moment before he asked Snape exactly how he earned the life debt to his father, the exact wording of the vow he'd given Dumbledore, and if Dumbledore had promised anything in return. The news that his father had saved him from a werewolf (Remus) was a bit of a shock but Ryuu brushed it off for the moment as he asked Snape if he truly believed that James Potter had saved him.

When Snape said he had always doubted it because he believed his father had been in on the 'joke' that had sent Snape to face a fully grown werewolf Ryuu informed Snape that there was in fact no true life debt owed which is why the magic of the debt hadn't done anything more than cause him pain when he realized he'd failed to save Ryuu from his near death experiences. There was a high probability that James Potter had also partly blamed himself at the time because of what had happened and who was involved which also would have negated the debt.

The shock on Snape's face was priceless and the reason for it became clear when he revealed that it had been Dumbledore that told Snape that he owed James Potter a life debt. When it came to the vow that Snape had given Dumbledore, Ryuu discovered that because there was no official 'bonder' that it wasn't actually an Unbreakable Vow that Snape had made to Dumbledore that night. The diadem provided him with the correct term; an Intangible Vow.

It was a vow that held the appearances of an Unbreakable Vow but lacked the rigid binding and deadly consequences that an Unbreakable Vows foisted upon the one bound. Snape would suffer only as much as he thought he deserved each time he failed to fulfill his vow; which is why he'd grown so angry after he learned that Ryuu actually was Harry Potter. It was another blow to Snape's belief that Dumbledore had been protecting him all this time and another example of just how manipulative Dumbledore could be.

Ryuu, with the help of the diadem, released Snape from the Intangible Vow since it had been given under false pretenses. He also released him from the lingering not quite debt that the man had owed his father due to the insistence of Dumbledore. It didn't release the older wizard from the very real debt he owed Ryuu for saving his life by removing the dark magic that had tainted his wounds and for removing the Dark Mark; freeing him from the Dark Lord forever.

Ryuu then told Snape that he would consider the debt fulfilled if Snape would willing provide Ryuu with a copy of every memory that Snape had spent in Voldemort's presence throughout his lifetime and speak about Voldemort's reactions to the prophecy he'd taken from the Ministry just a few months earlier. Ryuu even offered to swear an oath to never show those memories to anyone outside of his uncle, his father, and Ashikaga-shishou or speak of them to anyone who did not already know what the memories contained without Snape's permission.

Agreement made, Snape began mentally preparing his memories while Ryuu asked Dobby to return the diadem to his trunk and either find or purchase five hundred memory vials so that Snape's memories could be stored and labeled (any extras could easily be stored away for future use). Snape became part of Ryuu's war council that day, simply because he was their new expert on the current Death Eaters the Dark Lord had at his beck and call, knew a list of future targets that the Dark Lord planned to attack (including Azkaban in order to free the other Death Eaters), and knew the weaknesses that Voldemort's current body was suffering from since he'd been the Dark Lord's potion master and healer since his rebirth.

The man, while still somewhat caustic and stand-offish, had been humbled by Ryuu's willingness to forgive him and help him. He was also shocked that Ryuu didn't hate him when the teen learned that Snape had been the one to tell Voldemort the first half of the prophecy. Ryuu simply told him that everyone makes mistakes and there was nothing he could do to change the past so why allow hatred and hurt to cloud his judgment? He told him he wasn't happy to know the man played a part in his parents' deaths but he also realized that Snape had paid for his mistakes through the years he'd lived with the guilt of knowing he was partly to blame for the death of the woman he'd loved.

On the very last day of the summer session, Ryuu's Battle Magic training was turned into an exposition as his advisors from around the world congregated at the Samurai Training Facility in order to observe Ryuu's current abilities (so they could determine what training he still needed). Instead of giving the sixteen year old an army to direct (since his advisors were fully aware of his leadership abilities) he would be facing an army of three hundred high level training dummies alone. The reason for this was his council wanted to see just how capable Ryuu was and just how strong he was.

The exercise was fairly straight forward; Ryuu would be dropped by portkey into the center of the army and he would be required to fight his way back out. His objective; to destroy the entire army of training dummies without taking a 'fatal hit' from one of the dummies. The rules were simple; anything but Unforgivables was permissible. Many of the council members had protested that Ryuu didn't stand a chance but Ryuu simply grinned and took the portkey after checking that he had his wands, his weapons, and what he called his battle flute (his pan flute on a special brace that held it place near his mouth so he didn't need his hands to hold it).

The moment he landed in the middle of the enemy army, Ryuu was attacked by a handful of the dummies. Ryuu didn't hesitate to retaliate as he blasted a number of them out of his way with high powered blasting charms. He knew that the dummies were intelligent enough to attack in small numbers so that the confusion of them all trying to attack at once wouldn't give Ryuu any advantage over the large army. (They'd had to upgrade the training modules to include that function when Ryuu had decimated thirty of them fairly easily by pitting them against each other because they all tried to fight him at once during an earlier training session.) He wielded a sword in one hand, a wand in the other, and used his mastery over the elements to cut down dozens upon dozens of animated dummies at a time.

Over the seven and a half hours it took for Ryuu to completely destroy the army of three hundred, his council of advisors had watched in sheer amazement and disbelief over Ryuu's performance. They marveled over his ability to think on his feet, defend against both physical and magical attacks, and his seemingly boundless stamina (both magical and physical) as he fought non-stop until the last clone had fallen. It was, in a way, the culmination of seven years worth of intense training combined with Ryuu's sheer determination.

It was also rather daunting because it showed them exactly just how powerful Ryuu had become and the fact that he had not yet reached his magical maturity was somewhat frightening because he would only grow stronger as he grew older. They were also very much aware that Ryuu rarely ever allowed himself to use his full potential; using only what was necessary to get what ever job he had to do done.

That day, as Ryuu stood amidst the complete destruction of an entire training field and the scattered remains of three hundred training dummies; a legend was born in the eyes of those who had witnessed his mock-battle.

* * *

><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Gaki - brat  
>Iie – no<br>Izanami – Japanese goddess of creation and death (wife to Izanagi who along with Izanami gave birth to many islands, deities, and the forefathers of Japan). Not certain on the exact details but their story is supposed to parallel that of Orpheus and Eurydice (Greek god and goddess).

**Notes: **

* I'd like to point out that Izanami in my story is not Death; she is an avatar or a fraction of Death, a piece of death's magic bound to the Hallows that Ryuu has gained mastery of through his possession of all three Hallows. There are thousands more such 'pieces' of death attached to other items and beings all around the world and they all work to keep the balance between life and death in this story. So, Ryuu is not actually bossing about the actual god or being known as Death; he's merely controlling a small fraction of Death's magic in order to help Death maintain the balance between life and death. If that makes sense…

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> _I think this is the first time I've ever saved Snape and not made him into the 'bad guy'. I hadn't originally planned on saving him but it fit the story better to have him being bound by false oaths and debts instead of a truly evil man. I still think canon Snape is evil but that's just my opinion. I'll have the next chapter up in a day or two... Jenn  
><em>


	48. Putting to Rest the Demons of the Past

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 47: Putting to Rest the Demons of the Past<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>August 1996 ~ September 1996<em>

Takashi watched as three of the four wizards sitting beside him had trouble reconciling the image of his oldest son completely decimating three hundred 'enemies' with the current picture of Ryuu playing a harmless game of tag with his younger brother in his animagus form. The image of his destructive manipulation of earth, lighting, wind, and fire compared to the manipulation of his little brother's feelings as the eighteen month old squealed in delight and laughed unabashedly as Ryuu the red panda tickled the babe with his paws and tail. And the deadly force Ryuu had used when wielding his sword on the battle field with the utmost care with which he handed his baby brother.

The two incongruous images would have had someone who didn't know Ryuu very well labeling the teen as a schizophrenic with homicidal tendencies. Takashi knew that there had been a point where the truth in that assumption wouldn't have been too far off and if not for the dainty blonde that was currently playing alongside his two sons and the gray haired wizard seated beside him there would be a very real risk of Ryuu becoming the most terrifying dark lord in the history of wizard kind.

Sitting beside Takashi on the couch where he watched his children playing was Hatake Kakashi, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Severus Snape. Black, Lupin, and Snape had been completely blindsided by the earlier display of Ryuu's true power and though his godfather and honorary godfather had both at least had some idea of Ryuu's true strength they had never truly seen Ryuu unleash that power. Snape had been the hardest hit because the man still hadn't forgotten the thrashing a fourteen year old Ryuu had given the caustic potions master during his fourth year after he'd been bound to play in the Tri-Wizard Tournament and forced him to realize that Ryuu had held himself back at the time.

The earlier display also reinforced Ryuu's order for Black and Snape to keep their interactions civil because if he had to break them up a second time (Sirius and Snape had attacked each other verbally and damn near hexed each other the moment they laid eyes on one another just before Ryuu's demonstration only for Ryuu to step in between them) he would see to it that neither of them were able to hold a wand for a month. That he held both men responsible for their actions was also very telling; an unspoken declaration that he wasn't going to pick sides in their fights.

"How can you sit there so calmly?" Snape finally asked softly as he tore his eyes from the picture of Ryuu being cuddled like a living stuffed animal by his little brother as the toddler sat in Luna's lap to glance at Takashi. (Ample use of a translation charm allowing him to communicate with the others without forcing them to constantly switch between English and Japanese.) "After witnessing… how can you accept it so easily?"

"I can accept it because what you see right now is the real Ryuu," Takashi replied without hesitation as he kept his eyes on his sons. "All he ever wanted was to have a family to love and love him in return. He doesn't have a malicious bone in his body and while he knows darkness he does not thrive in the shadows that once filled his heart. That does not mean that he won't strike out against those that harm him or those close to him; it just means that he doesn't seek to intentionally harm those around him. Does he carry the potential to do harm? Yes, but so does every other living being on this planet."

"His family means more to him than all of the power in the world," Hatake added proudly, more than a touch of reverence lacing his tone as he watched Ryuu's little paw dart out to tweak his brother's nose, making the toddler squeal with glee. "His greatest desire is to protect those he cares about no matter what the cost."

"He is a perfect blend of both Lily and James," Remus pointed out wistfully. "He is intelligent, talented, compassionate, and stubborn beyond belief with a wicked temper to boot. Traits that you and your wife both share as well, which I think helped bring them out in Ryuu. He may be the spitting image of James when his father was his age but he will never be mistaken for his father just because of his looks."

"He has something James never had; self confidence without arrogance, pride without the rampant prejudice our society is rife with, and a sense of self worth that is not dependent upon his peers," Sirius admitted in a rare showing of maturity. "James would be proud of Ryuu."

"So would Lily," Snape added softly. "She would be very proud of him and she would have approved of both you and your wife and everything you've done for her son."

Ryuu smiled and gave a sneeze of amusement (the red panda's equivalent of a laugh) as he flicked his ears in direction of the couch where the adults were sitting watching them. He knew exactly how his birth parents felt; he'd asked them personally one night after he'd learned how the Resurrection Stone worked. He'd also been able to put to rest a large portion of the guilt he felt over Shogun's death after he'd called upon his familiar's soul and apologized to the owl for not protecting him and found that the owl never blamed him.

Ryuu's amusement over the situation dimmed when he realized that Sirius, Remus, and Snape all carried a ton of guilt over what happened to his parents and how selfish he was to not allow them a chance to release that guilt by speaking to the Potters, now that he carried the means to allow them to do so. Giving his brother a kiss on the cheek (much like a dog by licking said cheek) he jumped from his brother's arms and dashed off up the stairs in order to retrieve the ring from where he'd hidden it. When he came back downstairs, he came back down as himself (much to Kenji's disappointment) and looking so solemn that his father and the other adults all looked concerned.

"I know my birth parents are proud of me and that they approve of otousan and okaasan," Ryuu began as he glanced at the five adults before focusing on the three English wizards. "I've known how they feel for around two weeks now and until today never realized just how much their death affected the three of you. I've known Moony and Padfoot felt guilty over what happened that night for years now but I guess it didn't occur to me to offer you this chance because I only recently learned that I had a chance to learn about them myself."

"Ryuu-kun, you're not making any sense," Takashi chided gently as he took in the confused expressions on the three English wizards' faces.

Shaking his head, Ryuu turned the ring in his hand over three times while concentrating on his birth parents which caused the spirits of James and Lily Potter to shimmer into existence beside the teen. Remus and Sirius both let out low whines, their inner canines showing in their moment of distress, while Snape just moaned softly as he stared at Lily with haunted eyes.

"It's not a trick and they are not alive but it is them and you can ask them anything you wish," Ryuu stated softly as he gathered up his brother and girlfriend. "They will remain for an hour before they return to the underworld or afterlife."

The adults never even noticed the teens leaving the room with Kenji as they stared at the solid looking spirits of James and Lily Potter.

"Lily," Snape breathed in a choked voice.

"I was so disappointed in you and saddened that you'd turned on me so completely," Lily stated softly as she stared at her old childhood friend. "I cried myself to sleep many a night as I watched you growing colder over the years; right up until you swallowed your pride and begged for help earlier this summer. I well know how much that cost you to beg my son for help after the number of years you spent resenting my husband and my son for falsely believing that James had stolen me away from you."

"I could have loved you the way you loved me once upon a time if not for the darkness you allowed to grow in your heart from the moment you were sorted into Slytherin. I am sorry that I didn't trust you enough to stand by your side when you needed me most but I can't regret the love I shared with James or the joy that our son brought us during the short time we had together. I am glad that you are no longer seeped in the taint of dark magic, Sev, and forgive you for the part you played in our deaths."

"I am so sorry, Lily, so very sorry," Snape whispered just before he broke down in tears.

Lily offered him a sad smile before she turned her attention to Takashi and moved closer, "You and your wife have our eternal gratitude for everything the two of you have done for our little Harry. It broke my heart watching him slowly drowning in the darkness during those years he lived with my poor misguided and frightened sister. She did try but she was never prepared to deal with Harry's gifts; something I'm not entirely certain I could have coped with even had I known what I know now about the spirits. We were protected from them by the wards and later the Fidelius Charm or I'm certain we'd have discovered how different he was far sooner."

"Ryuu is a treasure," Takashi stated simply as he smiled at the teary-eyed witch. "And there are few people out there who could have dealt with a child blessed with the sight when they themselves know nothing of the youkai. I learned that well growing up. I do wish I'd learned of your existence sooner; I would have jumped at the chance to get to know the both of you or at least have found Ryuu sooner."

"We know," James said as he spoke up for the first time; the wizard's spirit having been staring at his fellow Marauders while Lily spoke first. "I would have sought you out had I known I had other family out there after my adopted parents died. I never even knew I was adopted until I reached the other side; long believing that Mum and Dad were my parents. I am happy that things have turned out alright in the end; Harry is happy and he is loved. He's grown into a fine young man and as jealous as I am that I didn't really have a part in raising him; I wouldn't change a thing if it meant that Harry wasn't the same young man he is now."

"It means a lot to me that you feel that way," Takashi replied around the lump in his throat. "I'm certain you've seen the number of times I second guessed my decisions; though never once did I regret adopting Ryuu. I think he taught me more about myself than anyone else."

"Children have a tendency to do that," Lily laughed softly. "You should have seen just how much James learned in the short time we had with our son. He may have matured before we left Hogwarts but he didn't truly grow up until after Harry was born."

"Lily!" James whined petulantly with a playful pout. "You promised you wouldn't tell!"

Lily laughed a second time before she sobered and shook her fingers at James in mock anger, "I only agreed not to tell so long as you didn't prank anyone in the afterlife."

"But how can you count what I did to Wormtail or the toad woman as a prank!? You know they both deserved it!"

"Wormtail is dead?" Sirius asked in shock as he focused on James.

"Yes. Voldemort killed him shortly after he felt Snape's Dark Mark being destroyed. Apparently, Peter was supposed to have insured that Severus lived through his torture because Severus was the only one keeping the Dark Lord's body from deteriorating further."

"The venom… Ryuu's blood was used in the ritual that gave the Dark Lord back his body; they had no way of knowing it was there and therefore didn't know to compensate for the toxicity of his blood," Hatake blurted out with a predatory grin that was soon mirrored on the faces of the other four living adults. "It also sounds like the dobe never fully recovered from the thrashing Ryuu gave him the night he was reborn which I guess was confirmed by the memories Snape-san here provided; though I've not viewed them all as of yet."

"You are correct," Snape agreed as he pulled himself together. "He'd only gotten worse after he retrieved the prophecy… I still can't believe the audacity of Pot… Natsume pranking the Dark Lord the way he did with the false prophecy. That took some serious balls to pull off."

"Language, Sev!" Lily scolded to the laughter of the other men present.

Snape shrugged as he added, "It's true. Though I wanted to resent what he did due to how much it cost me; I can't fault him for striking out at the Dark Lord and making him turn on his own forces the way he did. Very Slytherin of him."

"Quite Gryffindorish of him as well," Sirius smugly pointed out.

"Careful, Padfoot, old chap; you start a fight and Harry will not be pleased," James remarked before laughing as he watched Sirius cringe over the mere thought of Ryuu's retribution.

"I am angry with both of you," Lily interjected firmly before the three Marauders could get to teasing each other. "I had hoped that you would have been there for Harry after our deaths and while I realize there were other issues involved it still hurt to know you both basically abandoned him. I was saddened when Albus allowed you to be tossed into prison without a trial, Sirius, but I was also angry that you allowed yourself to lose your head like that. I was also angry that you gave in so easily to Hagrid about turning Harry over to Albus. Remus… I realize there were reasons why you couldn't be there due to the wards that were put in place but it still hurt that you didn't make more of an effort to make certain my baby was being taken care of."

Both living Marauders bowed their heads in shame, their guilt eating away at their confidence in the face of Lily's justifiable anger. To their surprise, when Lily next spoke her voice was much softer and far more forgiving than they would have expected after those first harsh words.

"That said you have both more than made up for your mistakes as you did your best once you were brought into my son's life. You finally allowed yourselves to be the responsible men we believed you to be when we first asked you both to watch over our baby. We never blamed either of you for our deaths; we knew who was to blame."

"That you both pretty much accepted Harry's happiness at face value and didn't try to take him away from the family he'd found helped," James added with a wistful grin that was directed towards the door Ryuu had left through. "I'm especially proud of you for teaching him to carry on the fine Marauder tradition of creative pranking; I don't think I've ever laughed as hard as I did watching him first set up the prank over Voldemort and then watching the toad woman's decent into madness as he directed his minions… (Oh, I was so proud of him for conscripting his minions to his cause. He truly has surpassed his old man in everything!) …to prank her every which way from Sunday."

"Don't encourage them, James," Lily huffed in exasperation though everyone could see the smile playing about her lips.

"Hah, this from the woman who crowed from the treetops every time our son drove her into a blubbering mess each time he successfully coordinated a strike on her personal quarters or when he stole her collection of cat plates from her office right out from under her nose."

"He was brilliant in both planning and execution during that period of time," Hatake crowed softly. "He also showed a ruthlessness I never would have expected from him. Not that I blame him; it was just surprising."

"You know Lily and I owe you quite a bit Kakashi Hatake," James solemnly declared. "While we may not have always agreed with your methods, you have done almost as much for our son as my long lost cousin. I admit I resented you taking Padfoot's rightful place in Harry's heart in the beginning but even I could see how much you came to mean to him over time. You even gave the old mutt a chance to earn Harry's trust and never tried to turn my son against him."

"I'm not that old!" Sirius protested with a dog-like whine.

"And Severus, for what its worth; I'm sorry. I was a right terrible bully in those early years," James admitted as he finally focused on his childhood rival. "In my defense I can only say I was young, stupid, and jealous of the fact that Lily liked you better than she did me in the beginning. I also have to say my son was correct; I believed that it was also partially my fault that Remus almost caught you that night. The reason I never accepted your life debt was not because I thought you were beneath me but because I felt I could have done more to make certain that night never happened in the first place. Had I not been so bent on making you pay for the insults you directed at Lily I probably would have picked up on Padfoot's intentions far sooner than I did."

"I can admit that I should not have let the four of you get to me like I did but I was insecure and my house mates gave me a smidgeon of respect because I could hold my own against the four of you and even give as good as I got," Snape countered. "I owe you an apology for treating your son the way I did once I knew he was your son. I held that grudge for far too long and allowed it to cloud my mind even though I'd already known he behaved nothing like you. I still find it shocking that he has in a way forgiven me if not forgotten the things I'd done. He gave me a chance to redeem myself unlike Dumbledore who only gave me an appearance of redemption."

"We have to go," Lily suddenly announced as she glanced over her shoulder for a moment. "Please don't mourn us any longer and don't hold onto the guilt you've kept all these years. All we ask is that you take care of our son and see to it that he lives through what is to come. Also, please don't ask Harry to call us back; it hurts us to cross over into the world of the living but we both understood why he called us to him that first time and again tonight. He knows what it costs us and would never call us simply for himself but if you asked he would and he'd blame himself for our pain."

Takashi stood up and offered his hand to James, the only adult there able to physically interact with the two spirits. He was then given a hug by Lily who again thanked him for giving their son a home. A moment later the two spirits turned and vanished as the time they'd been given finally ran out. The five adults spent another hour just contemplating on the rare (and previously impossible) opportunity they'd been given; a truly priceless gift.

"He still doesn't do things by halves does he?" Hatake asked rhetorically after a while.

"If I was the same bastard I was in his fourth year I'd say he was arrogantly taking after Potter and simply showing off… but what he gave each of us is too precious to demean in such a way," Snape softly stated as he stared at his palms as if he'd never seen them before. "He is truly a remarkable wizard."

"I don't think I could thank him enough for what he just gave us," Sirius added as he wiped away the tears he'd been unknowingly crying since Lily had told him she forgave him and never blamed him for their death. "A chance to say goodbye to my brother and sister in all but name. I can't imagine how much will power it must take him not to call them every chance he can."

"I imagine the fact that he has a family here that loves him helps," Remus replied as he stood up. "He called them once for himself to lay to rest the fear that they were angry or ashamed of him and then he selflessly shared them with us because he realized how much such a chance could mean to us. As Severus said, he is a truly remarkable young man."

Two days after he'd given the adults a chance to speak with his parents, Ryuu once again used the Resurrection Stone to call back another soul. This time he called Luna's mother for his girlfriend and her father after he'd seen the wistful expression on Luna's face the day he called his parents to him using the stone. He'd tried to withdraw from the room after he called the woman back from the underworld; intending to give the family an hour to say their goodbyes. Only for Danica (Luna's mother) to reach out to take his hand, pull him into a hug, and tell him he is more than welcome to stay because she saw him as part of their family.

She then hugged her daughter, which was a little more difficult since Luna's spiritual energies linked to her small seer talent were no where near as strong as Ryuu's. Sadly she couldn't physically touch her husband at all but not for a lack of desire or trying; he just didn't have the ability to touch the spirits like Ryuu and their daughter. Not that Xeno minded as he was far too caught up in the emotions of seeing his wife for the first time since she'd passed away a little over six years earlier. It was a most tearful reunion for the small family since the wounds and pain of her loss was still so fresh in their minds.

"I owe you many thanks, young man," Danica declared softly once she'd soothed her still grieving husband and spent a few minutes assuring Luna that she was proud of her. "I believe my little moon would have been quite lost without you these past four years. And that you willingly included her and my husband in your family when you didn't have to speaks volumes about your character. Should you two one day wish to bind yourselves together in marriage; know that you have my blessing."

"Ari… arigatou," Ryuu murmured as he blushed a bit; more than a little overwhelmed by both her acceptance of him and her words of praise when he was basically a virtual stranger to her.

"And I would offer you one piece of advice," Danica added as she walked forward and cupped Ryuu's chin in her hand so she could look him in the eye. "Don't be afraid of what you feel for my daughter and don't doubt that my daughter loves you very much. If you consummate your union before you say your vows I will not think any less of either of you as I have seen how much you both cherish one another. Physical intimacy is part of any relationship; even a platonic one if only in the forms of hugs and chaste brotherly or sisterly kisses. Just don't let your physical desires overrule your emotional needs and you two will be fine."

"Dani!" Xeno half protested.

"Oh hush, Xeno; as I recall, we were both fourteen when we crossed that line," Danica chided with mirth as she released Ryuu and turned to face her husband while Luna and Ryuu were both caught completely off guard by that revelation. "They are fifteen and sixteen respectfully and both old enough to take responsibility for their actions."

"We were also betrothed," Xeno grumbled as he flushed bright red.

"An official betrothal would be welcome," Danica mused as she turned to watch the two teen's who were now staring at the two adults warily; though Ryuu's expression was a touch contemplative while Luna looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "But not necessary unless they wish to follow the more formal traditions."

"I would be willing," Ryuu softly admitted as he glanced at Luna who turned a lovely shade of pink over that admission. "So long as that is what Luna wishes; I would never wish to force or pressure her into anything she didn't want."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew what the formal betrothal contract required," Luna whispered as she glanced away from Ryuu.

"I know exactly what a formal, magical betrothal consists of," Ryuu countered as he walked over to Luna and touched her elbow tentatively so she'd look at him. "I learned about them the same time I learned about debts, oaths, and vows back before my third year and I would not be afraid to bind myself to you so long as we made certain you had a way out if you changed your mind. I would never want to see you trapped or unhappy because that would hurt me far more than watching you marry someone who made you happy. I love you enough to submit to such a contract and love you enough to let you go should you wish it."

"My silly, Dragon," Luna breathed as she turned and curled into Ryuu's arms as she placed her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I've told you before you can't get rid of me that easily."

"I wouldn't want to," Ryuu murmured as he buried his nose in her hair.

"And that, Xeno dear, is why I would give them my blessing and turn a blind eye to their physical exploration," Danica announced with a sad, wistful smile. "They are meant for one another just as you and I were meant for one another."

"She's growing up too fast, Dani-love," Xeno softly complained. "And I missed so much those first two years after you passed away. I shudder to think how much more I would have missed if not for that young man."

"She will always be our little girl, Xeno, nothing could ever change that," Danica murmured. "And there wasn't a day that hasn't gone by that I didn't regret leaving you two behind the way I did. It hurt knowing I caused you two such pain. I am forever grateful that you didn't follow me as I feared you would at first; Luna needed you then and she still needs you now despite how much she's come to rely upon her beau."

"I know, dearest, and it pains me to know that it took me so long to realize that."

"Everything turned out just fine in the end, Xeno," Danica declared as she faced her husband once more. "I have to go now love; please don't ask the child to bring me back. It's time for you to let me go and live for our daughter. Never forget that I love you both and that I am watching you every day." She walked over and hugged both Ryuu and Luna one last time before saying goodbye to her daughter as she slowly faded out of sight.

"We can't call her back again, can we?" Luna asked as tears began gathering in the corner of her eyes.

"We could but calling the souls of the dead back into the land of the living causes them pain because they relive the moment of their death both when they arrive and again when they leave," Ryuu quietly explained. "I have only asked a few souls to return and even then only because they were willing to cross over. My parents, Shogun, and your mother are the only souls I've ever called and only my parents have come through twice and that was because I realized how selfish I was the first time I called them because I didn't share them with those they held dear to them. I think they understood that, which is why they were willing both times. I couldn't ask them to suffer a third time though."

"That was a very insightful and mature thing to say, young man," Xeno stated as he looked at Ryuu with knowing eyes. "And I will offer you a word of advice; take care who you allow to see you use the Stone of Resurrection. As one of the few who have studied the myths and legends surrounding the Hallows; I can honestly say that it is easy to recognize the stone regardless of what spells you've protected it with. I won't ask you where you got it from or why you kept it but if you don't mind I would like to one day ask you a few questions about the stone and if you ever learned anything about the other Hallows."

"If you are willing to swear an oath, Xeno-san, I think I can do you one better than just answering a few questions," Ryuu counter offered after he contemplated the man who he fully believed would one day be his father-in-law. "It's not that I don't trust you, per say, I just know exactly how… alluring the Hallows can be and I've seen them nearly ruin a good wizard."

Xeno ended up swearing two oaths, the blanket oath that most of the wizards in Ryuu's life had sworn not to harm Ryuu (or his familiars) or seek to profit from their association with Ryuu and another oath swearing that he would never seek to own the Hallows. Ryuu then allowed Mr. Lovegood to examine all three Hallows (something that had the man practically doing back flips he was so excited) before he allowed him to ask the diadem the questions he'd wanted to ask Ryuu; the magic in the slim crown offering more complete answers than Ryuu would have been able to provide.

The reporter in Xenophilius was bemoaning the fact that he couldn't actually publish any of his findings on the three Hallows or the diadem (which Xeno had recognized as he too had been a Ravenclaw during his Hogwarts years); not because he wanted to profit from the information but because he truly wished to share the information. Ryuu offered a compromise; asking him if he'd be willing to write a journal based upon his research and everything he learned from diadem. It would probably never be published but at least the information would never be lost.

Xeno readily agree and slyly added that it would be a nice legacy to leave behind for his grandchildren as he glanced pointedly at both Ryuu and Luna who both turned bright red at the insinuation. The older wizard's smile widened when he noted that neither teen actually denied or protested the subtle hint that he too approved their relationship and expected them to end up together.

The final three weeks of summer passed by fairly quickly after that; Ryuu's time split evenly between strategy sessions with his council of advisors viewing select memories that Snape had provided and spending time with his family and friends. The children were given some surprising news one week into their vacation; with the exception of the two Creeveys (whom their parents preferred to keep closer to home), the Weasley twins, and Lee Jordan (all three of whom had already finished their seven years); all of Ryuu's closest friends would be following him to the Academy instead of returning to Hogwarts. That meant there would be four prefect badges being returned to Professor McGonagall; Hermione's, Neville's, Luna's (it would have been her first year as prefect), and Ryuu's.

Ryuu was touched that his friends had asked their parents to switch schools so they could stay close to him and he sent gifts of appreciation to their parents (complete ward packages for their homes in addition to permanent portals linked to the portal in Ryuu's home so that they could visit their children as often as they wished). The Grangers wouldn't be able to use them on their own but they could and did make arrangements with the twins to activate the portal every weekend so they could come through since the academy didn't require the students to stay the entire weekend like Hogwarts did.

In the case of Fred, George, and Lee, they may not have been taking classes at the academy with the rest of the teens but they were still staying in Japan as they'd opened a shop in District Seven. Their store had been named Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments; or triple 'W' for short. They'd originally planed to name it Weasley's Wizard Wheezes but because they weren't just marketing jokes and gag gifts they changed the title a bit. Their Wheezes line would include all of the prank items that they'd thoroughly tested on Umbridge over the course of the previous year and number of items that they'd created but never bothered to use because there hadn't been enough time to test everything.

Ryuu, Takashi, Remus, Sirius, Hatake, and Snape all formed a partnership with the twins, turning their family owned shop into more of a mini-corporation. Snape actually allowed the twins to talk him into accepting a job as a potions researcher and brewer for the company while Remus and Sirius were hired to help with both production and manning the store (their legacy as the last of the Marauders enough to impress the twins).

Ryuu, Takashi, and Hatake were more of the financial backers of the new corporation though Ryuu did authorize the twins to market some of the ward schemes and enchanted artifacts he'd designed and created (such as lightly warded gloves, boots, clothes, hats, and necklaces, the Portable Projection Pensieves, and lightly warded pet collars). They were also authorized to take orders for Ryuu's more serious products providing the purchasers were willing to sign the contracts and give the required oaths. Ryuu also provided the occasional suggestion or idea for new joke products or other services and played devil's advocate on the morality of offering certain items for public sale (such as the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder) in order to make the twins think seriously about safety of those purchasing their products.

It was a profitable business for all involved and in just under a year they would open up additional shops in Districts One, Three, and Twelve (the last one being the closest to the academy). Lee would run the new store in District One, Remus in District Three, and Sirius would remain in District Seven while the twins personally took District Twelve in order to better influence the students. They even had plans to expand internationally once the threat represented by Voldemort and the Death Eaters had been ended. In the mean time one third of their profits were derived from the number of Owl Orders that they received from around the world.

One week before he was due to head off to school, Ryuu was reviewing the last memory Snape had given him of the times he'd met with the Dark Lord (the memory of the torture session that left Snape near death and desperate enough to beg Ryuu for help) when he discovered several bits of crucial information. He'd learned that Dumbledore had been correct in assuming that Hufflepuff's cup and Slytherin's locket had been used to create two of the horcruxes, that Slytherin's locket had been stolen by someone with the initials of R.A.B., that Voldemort had given the cup to Bellatrix Lestrange to store in her Gringotts' vault, that Voldemort planned to break out those followers in Azkaban on Halloween night so Bellatrix could retrieve the cup for him, and that the man had killed over fifteen of his followers due to his belief in the false prophecy.

The loss of the locket had been what triggered Snape's forty-eight hours of torture because the Dark Lord had wrongly blamed the potions master for the theft because Snape had not known who R.A.B. could be.

Ryuu had vomited the moment he'd exited that memory before he cleaned up his mess and immediately contacted his most trusted advisors so that they could view the memory (for the information he'd discovered) and they could make plans to track down the missing locket (or at least prove it had been destroyed) and figure out a way to get the cup from the Lestrange vault before Voldemort broke his followers out. While the other council members were viewing the memory, Ryuu was picking Snape's brain over the list of known Death Eaters both during the first rise of Voldemort and more recently after his rebirth.

They were just discussing those Death Eaters that Snape had personally attended Hogwarts with when Sirius came out of the pensieve howling like a dying dog about his baby brother. It took three calming draughts to get the distraught wizard to the point where he revealed that his brother's initials were R.A.B. and that he'd recognized the handwriting on the note the Dark Lord had been waving around as his brother's. He also revealed that he vaguely recalled seeing a locket similar to the fake somewhere in the Black Family home in London and plans were in the process of being made to send an extraction team to fetch it when Sirius called on Kreacher instead.

"Filthy, traitor dares call Kreacher," the deranged elf muttered as he popped into the room unwillingly.

"Kreacher, I order you to tell me what you know about Regulus's death and the locket he stole from the Dark Lord," Sirius commanded in a voice that demanded nothing less than complete obedience.

"Why does filthy traitor, who broke his mother's heart, want to know?" Kreacher demanded suspiciously as he glared at Sirius with eyes that were far more sane than they had been before Sirius had given his command.

"Because I intend to destroy it if it hasn't already been destroyed," Ryuu stated as he stared at the elf that had turned to study Ryuu the moment he started speaking. "I have destroyed four others much like it and my familiars destroyed a fifth."

"Wretched halfblood brat thinks he can trick Kreacher but Kreacher knows little impure brat has not the power to destroy the wickedness that consumed Kreacher's beloved Master Regulus."

Sirius opened his mouth to bark at the elf but Ryuu cut him off with a gesture as he crouched down on the floor so that he was standing eye to eye with the elf. He simply stared at the elf until he started to fidget nervously and just before the elf broke eye contact Ryuu started speaking in a soft voice that carried to the far corners of the room on the magic that Ryuu had pulled to him, "I am Natsume Ryuu and I have faced Voldemort four times and won. I have destroyed or witnessed the destruction of five horcruxes. I have survived a total of three killing curses and bear the scars to prove it. Either you will help me finish destroying the Dark Lord's tainted soul or you will find yourself sealed for all eternity and your bond to the once proud House of Black forever severed. Now… what will it be; the locket or a lifetime of emptiness?"

Kreacher gulped as he disappeared with a loud crack that echoed through the room like a gunshot. He reappeared with a much softer crack ten minutes later bearing the cursed locket that he placed on the floor at Ryuu's feet before he bowed to Ryuu and Sirius. A few sniffles later, the elf was pouring out the dreadful tale of Regulus's final moments to Sirius as requested and how he'd tried for so many years to carry out Master Regulus's final orders to destroy the locket but he'd been unable to complete his task. The poor elf was on his hands and knees bawling his eyes out by the time he finished his tale and not even Sirius could find the heart to hate the elf after everything he'd learned.

Ryuu gently asked his uncle to take a copy of the elf's memory so they could view it later while he secured the locket in a mokeskin pouch so it couldn't harm anyone before he turned to Yamamoto who silently gave his permission to Ryuu's unspoken request to borrow one of the warded dungeon rooms at the school. Ryuu then told Kreacher that he could watch him destroy the locket if he wished and silently added that he'd remove the dark magic he could feel affecting the elf's magic; most likely due to the long years he spent around the horcrux trying to destroy it.

On a whim, Ryuu tilted his head to one side and asked Kreacher if he could access the Lestrange vault at the Gringotts Bank in London since Bellatrix had been a Black by birth (according to what he learned about the Black family from his godfather). When the elf slowly nodded an affirmative, Ryuu asked the elf if he would be willing to rob the vault of the last of Voldemort's horcruxes in order to carry on Regulus's noble work. Kreacher practically begged for the chance to retrieve the horcrux and Ryuu smiled warmly at the eager elf as he described the cup in detail. This time the elf was gone for close to a half an hour before he returned with the cup and two separate scans confirmed that the cup was indeed a horcrux with a magical signature that matched the one emanating from the secured locket.

"You have my gratitude, Kreacher, I would not have the chance to destroy these two soul fragments so soon if not for your help and I am certain that Regulus would be proud of you right now if he was still alive," Ryuu murmured only to suddenly find himself with an armful of sobbing elf.

By the time Ryuu started classes on September ninth (the Japanese school starting a week later than Hogwarts) he'd destroyed both horcruxes and cleansed Kreacher of the dark magic that had been slowly driving the poor elf insane. The night before he returned to the academy, Ryuu used the Resurrection Stone twice more; the first time to call Regulus's spirit so that Sirius and Kreacher could both receive closure. It was a defining moment for both Sirius and the elf; allowing Sirius to come to terms with Regulus's brief stint as a Death Eater and his premature death due to the theft of the horcrux and absolved Kreacher's guilt over his failure in light of his favorite master's words of reassurance and praise. Regulus also gave the elf and his brother one last order.

"Be happy, Kreacher, serve the last of the true Black's as you were meant to serve them," Regulus told the elf. "Sirius isn't perfect but he was always right even when he was a knucklehead. And Sirius; find yourself a pretty little woman, marry her, and give me a bunch of nieces and nephews that I can watch over from the other side. You should bring Andromeda and her husband and daughter back into the family as well. They need you just as much as you need them even if neither of you will swallow your pride and make first contact if someone doesn't make you. I have to go now and like the others I ask that you not call me back again. I was happy for the chance to say goodbye but I do not wish to suffer through the pain of death again."

The eighteen year old then looked to Ryuu who'd been watching silently (by invitation of his godfather) from the other side of the room, "Thank you, kid, you've helped my soul find peace for what you've done for my brother and for my loyal friend. Good luck and may your moon shine brightly through your lifetime."

Ryuu had ended up with a bawling elf once again after Regulus's soul disappeared as well as being hugged tightly by his teary eyed godfather who thanked him profusely for yet another precious gift. Sirius had then extracted Kreacher so he could sit down and have a real heart to heart with the elf; the two of them getting along much better than they had before the destruction of the locket. Ryuu smiled and shook his head in amazement how it seemed to be the simplest little things that made the biggest difference.

The final time Ryuu used the Stone was to call on Natsume-Potter Reiko (his great-grandmother twice over), Natsume Seiichi (his paternal uncle and adopted grandfather), Natsume Chieko (his paternal aunt and adopted grandmother), and Tooru Tomio (his adopted maternal great-grandfather) for his immediate family. Touko and Shigure had both been stunned speechless at seeing the spirits, the two of them previously unaware that Ryuu could call upon the spirits of the deceased (though they had both been fully aware that Takashi, Ryuu, and Kenji could all see the youkai). Reiko stood off to one side while the other three spirits spoke to the living, her golden brown eyes filled with regret as watched the others interact.

At the end of the first hour, when Seiichi, Chieko, and Tomio returned to the underworld, Taki left with Shigure and Touko while Takashi, Ryuu (who was holding Reiko on the earthly plane), and Kenji stayed behind. Ryuu watched his mother leave as he gathered Kenji into his arms and retreated to the couch to give his father a chance to confront his grandmother.

"Why?" Takashi demanded in a pained whisper as he stared at his grandmother.

"I was young and scared," Reiko replied sadly. "I was so afraid that the youkai would seek to harm my child out of revenge shortly after I learned that I was pregnant with your father. I was planning to terminate my pregnancy when I met the old seer that told me I was making a huge mistake and would doom the world to perpetual darkness if I did not allow my son to be born. So I kept my baby and seven months later your father was born. I loved him from the moment I first held him and thought I could finally be happy. A year later the old woman appeared once more to tell me that my family would be torn apart and told me of the prophecy."

Reiko paused as she glanced across the room where Ryuu was playing with Kenji, her eyes filled with hunger and regret as she watched her great grandchildren for a moment. When she turned back to Takashi, there were tears running down her face as she continued, "I tried to fight the inevitable… I scrimped and scrounged for a year to save up the money to purchase two plane tickets. I thought I could escape with Seiichi and we could still be happy. It was just outside of the airport that she appeared for a third time. She offered me an ultimatum and in the end used a compulsion spell to get me to cooperate; taking my son and a single hair from me. She then cast a glamour over me before sending me onto the plane under the name Amaterasu Chiyo. It wasn't until I reached China that both spells faded but I could not go back to confront the woman because by then I was supposed to have already died in a gas explosion and because I did not use my own name, face, and ticket; I had no way of getting back because I was already dead according to Japan."

"I wandered aimlessly for five years after that… until I finally ended up in England. I tried very hard to put the past behind me but it was hard; I couldn't help but wonder what had become of my son. I took refuge in a church and eventually began doing exorcisms to earn money; binding the youkai to the Yujincho in order to prevent them from haunting or harming the people that hired me. Ten years later, I met Edward and he courted me persistently for another five years before I finally agreed to marry him. After two blissful years, the granddaughter of the seer that both destroyed and saved my life appeared with yet another warning. At the same time Edward was worrying about the rising dark lord in the wizarding world."

"A year later I learned that my son, your father, and his wife had died leaving my four year old grandson an orphan. As you know Jiro was born a year later. My grief over the loss of the son I was forced to abandon turning me to seek that which I had previously denied myself; another child. Edward was both sympathetic and ecstatic because he'd long wanted an heir though he never would have pushed me for a child because he knew how distraught I was over the loss of Seiichi. This time I didn't fight the warning I was given by the young seer, and Edward helped me put together everything I knew you would need to both survive and fulfill your part of the prophecy I'd been given years earlier. I then returned to Japan alone to deliver my things to the Fujiwaras, see that you were given half of the Yujincho, open an account so you would be taken care of, and left my will and other important documents in the safe deposit box for you."

"Edward and I… the entire Potter family really… were targeted by Voldemort at that point and Edward and I were murdered the next year. The magical documents in the safe deposit box updated themselves to reflect on our deaths and Edward's wand returned to its original box as it was charmed to do upon his death. I wept bitterly through the years as I watched both you and young Ryuu suffer knowing that you were both alone as I was alone in my early years. There were so many things I wish I could have done differently… and yet knowing the two of you finally found each other helps to ease the pain."

"And here I just thought it was only Ryuu-kun that was cursed with bad luck," Takashi deadpanned as he tried to absorb everything he'd just learned.

"I heard that, tousan," Ryuu groused from across the room.

"I am sorry," Reiko whispered as she hesitantly moved closer and reached out to brush the tips of her fingers across Takashi's face while his attention was momentarily drawn across the room by the sixteen year old's comment. "I wanted to take you with me when I saw how lonely you were and it broke my heart to leave you behind as I was forced to leave your father behind. I won't ask for forgiveness because I don't think I've earned it but I hope one day you could at least not hate me for abandoning you and your father."

"I never hated you," Takashi replied softly as he brought his hand up to hold his grandmother's hand against his cheek. "I only wanted… needed to understand. It was the frustration of knowing that I was missing half of the pieces I needed to see the entire picture." Takashi then pulled his grandmother into his arms so he could hug her for the first time. He pulled back a moment later and nodded towards the two boys watching them from the other side of the room. "Go on… go meet your great-grandchildren."

Another hour passed after that before Reiko finally said goodbye to her three grandsons. Takashi was sad to see her go; she'd played such a large part in his life despite the fact that she'd never been there for him while he was growing up. Knowing that she'd not willingly abandoned his father and by extension himself helped ease old fears and heartaches and Takashi felt as if a weight (that he hadn't even known he'd been carrying) had been lifted from his shoulders. Knowing that his parents and grandmother were proud of him and that Taki's grandfather approved of him helped him bury a few of his own inner demons that night.

The very last thing Ryuu did the night before classes started, was to send a parting gift to Voldemort in the form of a fake goblet to replace the stolen horcrux. The note he attached to the cup was very similar to the one that Regulus had left for the Dark Lord and had been signed with the initials K.B.H.E. which stood for Kreacher the Black family House Elf (much to the little elf's delight).

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><p><strong>Translations: <strong>

Danica – female name meaning Morning Star (or from Denmark) of Slavic and Latin origin.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _You know I could have sworn I posted this chapter earlier this month... I apologize for the delay but it is that time of year again... I have been focusing on my little beauties as I bring them up out of brumation and feed them up after their long winter nap and so haven't had much time to myself lately. Be thankful we're not breeding this year, otherwise it would have been even longer before I came back here to check on things. =) _

_Anywho, the next three chapters I post will be the first chapter of WWYR2 (Yes, it's FINALLY ready for posting), an omake for WWYR1, and the next chapter for Banished Destiny before I post the next chapter in this story. ~ Jenn  
><em>


	49. A Test of Will Power

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

**WARNING:** _This chapter contains a mild citrus part way through... I don't think the short scene is enough to bump the rating up to mature, but if someone thinks it is, I will (of course) change the rating on the story. The original scene was highly edited in order to keep the current rating._

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><p><span>Chapter 48: A Test of Will Power<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan<br>September 1996 ~ October 1996_

While Ryuu was settling into the dorm he'd be sharing with Neville (Luna had managed to get assigned to share with Hermione despite them being in two different years) his advisors were warning the British Ministry that Voldemort would be attempting to break the Death Eaters out of Azkaban on Halloween night. Minister Ogden, who'd been exceedingly thankful that he was no longer under the influence of the Imperius Curse, immediately made arrangements for the Death Eaters (minus Bellatrix) and the rest of the prisoners to be transferred to Nurmengard Prison and decoys (enchanted from dueling dummies) placed in their cells and set to 'activate' with lethal attacks the moment they were portkeyed out of the prison during the breakout.

There'd been some dithering about using lethal attacks in the event that innocents were harmed but Snape confirmed that Riddle had fully intended to take his imprisoned followers directly back to his hideout so he could torture them for their failures before sending Bellatrix to fetch his horcrux from her vault. The reason Bellatrix was not being whisked away and replaced was the hope that the fake horcrux in her vault would further send Voldemort over the edge of sanity and stability (if he survived the dummy attacks).

The moment Ryuu learned of the plan, he suggested that Bellatrix be placed under a twenty-four hour sleeping potion in the early hours of the morning on Halloween to allow for a greater chance that she'd survive the attacks by the decoys and not interfere with the destruction the decoys would heap upon Voldemort's hideout and forces. It would also mean that Bellatrix would be unable to warn those in the rescue party that they were walking into a trap because her fellow prison mates had been whisked away and replaced with decoys.

If they knocked her out periodically during the time in between now and the break out then she'd also be able to tell Voldemort that the sleeping potions were a new security procedure to keep the prisoners under control since the dementors were being phased out as guards and wardens. It was a tactical move that could easily be interpreted as a response to the articles that had appeared in the various publications around the world at the end of Ryuu's fifth year at Hogwarts about the removal of the dementors as guards.

He also suggested hidden swords or daggers instead of just the training wands loaded with lethal spells (such as blasting curses, bone breaking hexes, cutting curses, etc…) since most Death Eaters would have no clue how to fight against the physical attacks because they cared not for 'muggle' weapons. His suggestions proved that Ryuu had gained an understanding his enemies through the various battles he'd been forced to fight over the years and everything he'd learned through Dumbledore and Snape about the beliefs of both the Dark Lord and his Death Eaters.

Ryuu's class schedule was his busiest schedule yet as he intended to cram two years worth of N.E.W.T. level classes into a single year as he planned to be completely finished with his magical education (aside from a few extra specialized courses) by the end of the year. Monday through Friday he was up by four thirty in the morning and would spend three hours learning Advanced Dueling (both magical and sword) before he turned back two hours to attend the morning Advanced Ju Jitsu classes where he was teaching the introductory courses in hopes of testing for his next black belt level at the end of the year.

After that he'd eat breakfast and then attend his morning classes which consisted of N.E.W.T. level Potions, Transfiguration, and Charms before he turned back four hours and headed to the training fields to continue his Master Level Battle Magic Training under Ashikaga. He'd return to the school for lunch at that point before attending his afternoon classes which were N.E.W.T. Level Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures followed by Master Level Defense and Warding.

Another two turns back gave him two hours to work on his assignments for the day before he went to supper. He then had another two hours after supper to work on his assignments again before he spent an hour meditating (something Hatake insisted he kept up with in order to constantly improve and reinforce his Occlumency shields, monitor any changes in his magical core, and give him a period of rest before he went to bed. That wasn't even counting the Basic Healing course and the Ritual Magic that Ryuu was learning.

Each class, bar his Battle Magic Training and his dual morning training sessions, were only an hour long but the back to back schedule meant that he had no time in between classes to recharge and catch his breath. This was intentional as his uncle wanted to push his core to its limits in order to increase his magical stamina and force his core to increase its recharge rate so that it didn't take him quite as long to recover. They'd started working on those two things over the summer and they'd already seen a bit of improvement but he was no where near to the level he'd need to be in order to defeat even a weakened Voldemort. One of the reasons why they weren't in a hurry to force a confrontation between Ryuu and Voldemort even though the Dark Lord was now mortal once again.

The weekends were, on the other hand, extremely slow in contrast; each morning spent in meetings with his advisors to keep him appraised of everything that was going on (including the progress of warding the various prisons as they slowly gathered the dementors for disposal) or carrying out other war related activities. In the afternoons he was given five hours of free time that he used to handle other various projects he had going on, hang out with his family, friends, and girlfriend, or finish up any assignments he was working on for class. He'd then return to school and spend the rest of the evening studying or relaxing before he prepared for the next week's classes.

Neville's and Hermione's classes and schedules were fairly tame in comparison, their class load far lighter despite having a larger number of total classes. That was mostly because they only sat each class once or twice a week instead of every day though and they therefore had far more study periods spread throughout the course of the day that would allow them to keep up. Luna's schedule was rougher than Neville's and Hermione's but no where near as heavy as Ryuu's but that was because this would be her O.W.L. year and she would be taking twelve O.W.L.s at the end of the year. Like Ryuu, all three of the teens spent the weekend relaxing or catching up with their assignments, family, and each other.

It was on one of those blissfully lazy weekends early in October that Ryuu and Luna experienced a loss of control as they'd cuddled and kissed on the couch while they watched a movie. Himiko had finally gone into heat just that morning, coincidentally falling in sync with Luna's monthly cycle at the peak of her window of fertility. The little female kneazle had led Tenji on a merry chase through the house all morning; teasing and taunting the male kneazle mercilessly. Ryuu in the mean time had been in a meeting with his advisors and attributed his growing irritability and frustration to the news that it was taking longer to transport the prisoners out of Azkaban for some reason or another.

Once he returned home, Ryuu of course had jumped at the chance to spend an afternoon with Luna just hanging around the house while the others had gone to visit the twins and Lee at their District Seven store. Their activities had started out innocent enough, just cuddling on the couch with a bowl of popcorn as they watched one of Luna's favorite movies; the Dark Crystal. Tenji had just cornered Himiko just out of the direct line of sight of the young couple and the male kneazle intended on giving no quarter after the long frustrating morning spent playing Himiko's games. Ryuu and Luna in the mean time were slowly turning their attention from the movie to each other, sharing a few kisses as the popcorn was forgotten.

The moment Tenji pounced on the female kneazle, Ryuu's kisses went from tender and exploratory to demanding and possessive as the boundaries he'd long ago set for himself were ignored as if they never existed. Luna's complete submission (an echo of Himiko's though they shared no formal bond) only incited Ryuu which in turn fueled Tenji's actions. Hands ventured into territory they'd never before explored and clothing began to become a hindrance as he lost himself to the heady sensations flooding through him with each taste and touch the two teens shared. The sound of Luna moaning his name in near ecstasy was what snapped Ryuu out of his passion fueled haze and he froze as he took stock of their position.

His shirt had vanished completely and he was stretched out half over top of Luna on the couch, her small hands clinging to his shoulders and her nails digging slightly into his skin. Luna, on the other hand, was in an even more disheveled state; her shirt unbuttoned completely and hanging off her arms, her bra (with a front clasp) was undone giving him a clear view of her developing chest, her skirt had been pushed all the way up past her hips, and Ryuu's left hand was currently trapped beneath her knickers. Luna, still fully caught up in the pleasure of the moment, shifted beneath him and he sucked in a sharp breath as her thigh pressed against his arousal reminding him exactly how turned on he was and how much he'd been enjoying their activities.

The way she moved against his left hand, pressing herself against him as she made little mewling sounds nearly pushed him back over the edge as he dropped his face to the crook of her neck and breathed deeply of her ginger and nutmeg scent that was currently saturated with the musky scent of her obvious desire. He whimpered in the back of his throat as she once again pressed her thigh against him while at the same time reaching down to press one hand over his as she arched up against his hand as she moaned and bit down on his shoulder.

He couldn't resist the temptation, truthfully he wasn't certain he wanted to resist, and he pressed several kiss to the silky skin at the base of her neck. Luna's hands moved up to bury themselves in his hair as she moaned softly, encouraging him as he began kissing his way lower. He didn't get very far before Tenji's growling yowl cut through the haze of desire. It took great effort to remove his hand from her knickers as he sat up and peered over the back of the couch so he could glance across the room to where he could still hear Tenji and now Himiko growling at each other.

The realization of what was happening hit him like a ton of bricks as he caught sight of Tenji mounting the smaller female as the larger kneazle held her in place by the scruff of her neck. The knowledge that he's almost lost complete control of himself was just as effective as his uncle hosing him down and Ryuu gave a sharp whistle to summon one of the many phoenixes that had taken to hanging about the house (the same wild ones that he'd been taking care of since Umbridge's death) and a yellow blur flashed into the room in a crackle of electricity.

Five seconds later, Tenji gave out a yowl of pure rage as he was picked up by the phoenix, flashed out of the house, and deposited into one of the currently empty guest houses where he'd not easily escape. Himiko gave a plaintive cry in response before she dashed out of the room as if her tail was on fire. Ryuu then ran his hand over his face and immediately regretted it as it abruptly reminded him just where that particular hand had been no more than ten seconds earlier as he felt the wetness on his fingers and got another strong whiff of Luna's arousal. It didn't help that the half naked girl was still squirming and moaning beneath him.

"Luna… we need to stop," Ryuu murmured regretfully as he felt a ton of guilt crashing down on him for what they'd unconsciously been doing.

"Ryuu…? Please…?" Luna begged as she pulled him back down to her and pressed herself against him as she began nipping at his neck. "Please…?"

Luna's begging, combined with her kisses and the way she was pressing up against him sent a renewed wave of desire through him and he felt a tightening in his pants that indicated his body was more than willing to comply with his girlfriend's request. He closed his eyes and groaned as he allowed himself to be tempted only to feel his breath catch in his throat as Luna's little hands began stroking his desire through the fabric of his pants, her fingers dancing about as she sought the zipper. He let out a pained whine as he fought against his body, his desire to not rush things with Luna fighting against his desire to finish what they'd started. It took all of his will power to slowly stop her hands and pull away from her in order to put a little distance between their bodies.

"Please, Luna, as much as I want to; we need to stop," Ryuu replied a little more firmly. "We're not ready for this… I'm not ready for this. If we're going to take this step I want it to be of our own free will; not some rushed encounter fueled by Tenji's lust. I want there to be no chance of regrets…"

Luna froze as his words sank in and she opened her eyes to meet Ryuu's gaze, her blue irises dark with desire as she purposefully wriggled her hands free so she could touch him through his pants again. His eyes fell shut as he involuntarily pressed closer to her hands, his body trembling as he realized that if she continued to insist he'd end up giving in. He let out a soft whimper as she as she nibbled on his earlobe. She was quickly pushing him to his breaking point and he nearly let go just to end the exquisite pain of fighting what she was doing to him when she sighed softly into his ear and reluctantly pulled away.

"You… you do want me, don't you?" Luna asked tentatively as her hands came to rest on his hips as she glanced up to search his face. "I mean, you find me desirable right? You aren't stopping because you aren't interested in me that way, are you?"

"Luna, dearest, you were just stroking the evidence of just how much I desire you," Ryuu growled roughly as he opened his eyes to let her see the naked desire filling their emerald depths. "And I know you can still feel me pressed up against you right now. I want you very much but like I said… I want us to take this step on our own terms not because I lost control because Tenji was all over Himiko."

Ryuu then leaned down to claim her mouth with a passionate kiss while his hands tangled themselves in her hair; an unspoken promise that one day he'd make her his. And then he was pulling back, forcing himself to end things before he said to hell with it and took her right there on the couch. He then gently pulled down her skirt and pulled her top closed before he dropped off the couch and stood up on shaking knees.

"Never doubt how desirable I find you," Ryuu whispered as she opened her eyes and glanced up at him with glazed eyes. "You should get cleaned up and straighten up your cloths, love, otherwise everyone is going to assume we were doing far more than we did and I'll not allow them to tease you over this simply because I lost control."

One more kiss, soft as the sun's touch on the morning dew, and Ryuu was gone; leaving Luna to make her way to the bathroom on weak and rubbery knees. Ryuu in the mean time made his way to the family dojo where he'd spend the rest of the afternoon physically pushing his body as he tried to drive the feel and scent of Luna out of his mind least he hunt her down much as Tenji had hunted Himiko all morning.

Three hours later, when everyone else returned after the afternoon spent running around, Satoshi was sent to tell Ryuu to come eat supper; his parents having picked up take away for the night. Ryuu quietly refused as he started yet another set of katas; completely unmindful of the sweat pouring down his bare chest and back, uncaring of the burning pain that was slowly snaking through his muscles from the constant strain, or the fact that his breathing was no longer smooth or even. He was perfectly happy to push himself into unconsciousness in order to avoid giving into his desire which was still partially fueled by Tenji's.

Satoshi, familiar enough with Ryuu's habits to not only recognize the strain Ryuu was putting on his body but his obvious emotional distress, left just long enough to discreetly let Hatake know something was wrong. It only took Hatake one look to come to the same conclusion as Satoshi and the older wizard grabbed a bo from the wall and moved purposefully towards Ryuu with the intent of knocking the teen off his feet to break the cycle so he could talk to the sixteen year old in order to find out what was wrong.

What he hadn't expected was for Ryuu to anticipate his move and find himself drawn into a furious spar with the teen. It wasn't that Ryuu was trying to hurt him it was more that Ryuu was purposefully taking hits Hatake knew the kid could still dodge despite the increasing exhaustion he saw in the teen. That and Ryuu wasn't even bothering to attempt to stay out of range of the staff which was completely unlike the sixteen year old; not even when Satoshi joined Hatake when it became apparent that Ryuu had been looking for a fight.

It took nearly an hour for Hatake to get through Ryuu's defenses completely with the help of Satoshi, the teen having only allowed himself to stay open for what amounted to some rather bruising blows while not allowing the older man to end the spar with a well timed sweep or other definitive move. Once down, Hatake tossed aside the staff and sat on the teen's stomach while Satoshi sat on his legs to prevent him from getting back up (which he'd done twice before when Hatake had thought he'd knocked him down for good). He then patiently waited for Ryuu to stop struggling to throw them off. It took a few minutes but eventually the exhaustion sapped Ryuu's strength and Hatake felt him deflate.

"Now that you seem to have regained your senses, mind telling me what the hell that was all about?" Hatake ordered as he moved back just enough to crouch beside the teen.

Ryuu huffed and let out a low whine before he whispered one word, "Tenji."

"Okay… I really don't want to play twenty questions here… can you please be a little more specific?"

"Himiko…" Ryuu hoarsely stated as he closed his eyes to avoid seeing the disappointment in his uncle's eyes.

Hatake furrowed his brow as he tried to follow Ryuu's logic until he abruptly recalled the discussion he'd had with the sixteen year old around the middle of the summer and swallowed the curse he felt on the back of his tongue. Pursing his lips he suddenly understood Sirius's and Remus's startled expressions when they'd walked through the living room shortly after they arrived. He studied Ryuu for several minutes trying to determine how bad things were before he tentatively offered a single word reply of his own, "Luna…?"

Ryuu flinched as if struck as his eyes flew open and stared at Hatake with slightly haunted eyes before he painstakingly turned away from his uncle and let out a soft whimper.

"How bad?" Hatake asked, expecting the worst from the way Ryuu was behaving.

"We didn't, if that's what you're asking," Ryuu replied tiredly as he reluctantly turned back to face his uncle to see the relief in the older man's eyes. "But we went a lot further than I would have wanted considering the circumstances, oji."

"I'm glad you listened to Luna-chan," Hatake started only to be interrupted by a snort from Ryuu. "What…?"

"Luna would have been perfectly happy if we'd continued," Ryuu explained in a strained voice. "She was begging me not to stop, oji; she practically demanded that I don't. I'm not even certain that she realizes just how close she came to breaking my control this afternoon. If she'd pushed me even a second longer… how am I supposed to fight myself when she…?"

"Now that was a complication I did not expect," Hatake admitted as he sheepishly rubbed at the back of his neck and glanced sideways to where Satoshi was still seated on Ryuu's knees; the younger man staring at the teen with a combination of amusement and sympathy.

"Really," Satoshi drawled. "I fully expected Luna to be the one to take charge of the relationship because she's been subtly chasing after Ryuu since the day they met and Ryuu chivalrously carried her to the infirmary. There is only one word to describe the situation…"

"So help me if you say that I'm…" Ryuu growled as he lifted his head and glared at his friend.

"Whipped?" Satoshi sing-songed as he grinned wickedly at Ryuu.

Hatake reached out and grabbed Ryuu by the scruff of the neck as the teen transformed into his animagus form to lunge at the now laughing twenty-one year old. There was a smirk on Hatake's face as well but Ryuu couldn't see it as the growling red panda was firmly focused entirely on Satoshi as he swung his little paws in an effort to reach the wizard. It was at that point that Luna slipped into the dojo and Ryuu's little nose twitched as his eyes grew wide and he turned to the door as he went limp in Hatake's grip. When Satoshi started snickering Ryuu huffed and crossed his forepaws as he tilted his nose up a bit; a clear indication that he was ignoring his best friend.

Luna blushed a bit as she padded hesitantly across the floor and dropped down on the floor in front of Ryuu as she tentatively reached out for him. Ryuu didn't hesitate to go to her once Hatake let go of him, though it was obvious he was a bit embarrassed when she ended up cuddling him like an infant. The soft whimper he let out had the two older wizards chuckling softly while Luna blushed even more but didn't change the way she was holding him as Ryuu the panda eventually sighed in resignation and curled up contentedly in her arms.

"I don't know whether I should be happy that my Dragon is such a strong wizard with rigid self-control or bemoan the fact that he not only has rigid self-control but that he is noble to a fault," Luna sighed which made Hatake palm his face while Satoshi choked on his laughter and stared at Luna wide-eyed. "Do you know that my parents basically gave us permission to… well… they gave us no restrictions in our relationship. My mum even gave us her blessing from beyond the grave and he still held back."

"He cares for you too much to allow his baser needs to override his need to keep you safe," Hatake stated as he studied Ryuu with new understanding. "I think maybe the two of you need to talk about what happened, what didn't happen, what you each felt about what happened or didn't happen, what you each wanted to happen, and what could happen the next time this happens."

_Did you happen to think that sentence through before you said it?_ Ryuu asked in sign language with his fuzzy paws as he turned to stare at Hatake incredulously.

"I happen to think it sounded about right," Hatake countered with as much aplomb as he could manage as he blushed and tried not to think about his earlier sentence.

"I think he happened to notice," Satoshi snorted as he shook his head and climbed to his feet. "As fun and as entertaining as this past hour or so has been I'm going to grab something to eat."

Hatake followed him out a moment later, leaving the two teens alone and both of them sighed as they looked to one another before giggling over the unintended mimicry. Ryuu shifted himself in her arms and nuzzled her ear with his muzzle for he jumped out of her arms and let go of the animagus transformation. Luna then threw herself into his arms as she shook under the force of her emotions.

"I'm sorry… I shouldn't have…" Luna began her distress obvious.

"Shh… we both got more than a little carried away," Ryuu soothed as he gently ran his fingers through her hair. "We'll be alright and now we know to be a little more careful; better that we lost control here than at school where anyone could have walked in on us. We'll go back through the book I have on kneazles and figure out Himiko's cycles so I can take care to plan ahead to deal with Tenji so the two of them don't catch the two of us off guard again. I'll also see if there's a way to, if not block the bond, at least mute it so his behavior doesn't affect mine quite so strongly. I know my familiar is more than a little upset with me right now but I'll deal with that later. Are you going to be alright? I didn't hurt you did I?"

"Only my pride," Luna half laughed and half sobbed as she snuggled close, not caring that she was pressing her face against Ryuu's sweat soaked bare chest. "You have no idea just how embarrassing it is to know that I have no defense against the things you do to me without even being aware that you are doing it."

"If it's any consolation; I feel the same way every time you smile at me or take my hand," Ryuu murmured as he buried his nose in her hair. "I can't count the number of times you've driven me half mad with desire without even seeming to make any effort to do so. You have no idea how hard it was to deny you earlier this afternoon; how close I came to losing complete control. I meant what I said though; if or more likely when we do take that final step I want us to do so because it is what we both want not because we just got caught up in the moment and lost control."

"You're right, my Dragon," Luna murmured as she finally began to calm down. "I always knew I could trust you… I just wish the nargles and wrackspurts hadn't been off playing with the phoenixes; they usually warn me about things like this."

"That might be because my pendant chases them away," Ryuu reminded her. "I've been wearing it so long that I sometimes forget it affects everything and everyone around me. Maybe I should look to keying a few nargles into the wards so that they can warn us both when we go overboard."

"You'd do that? I know you don't like the nargles much…"

"It's not the nargles I don't like…" Ryuu gently countered as he leaned back and lifted Luna's chin so he could look her in the eye. "The youkai frightened me because the only ones I dealt with in the beginning were the ones that sought to harm me. I wasn't lucky enough to find the pretty little fairies that you call nargles or the little flying horse-like wrackspurts that you say often distract you. If I had met those kinds of little spirits first, I think I would have been happy to see them all the time. And I am aware of just how much you like your cloud of nargles; so yes, for you I would key a few of them into my wards so that I don't chase them away from you when we are together. Not all of them, mind you, because I don't feel comfortable being swarmed… but a few of them, a couple wrackspurts, and maybe a kitsune or two."

"I'd like that…"

"Then I'll see what I can do," Ryuu murmured as he gently brushed a kiss across her lips. "I'll have to talk to Natori-san since he was the one that designed the original amulet and I know he keyed Nyanko-sensei into the protection but I never asked him how."

"With my blood, of course, gaki," Nyanko answered as if that should have been obvious as he waddled into the room. "I came to tell you that if you don't go eat I'm going to eat your sushi for you. I can't stand to see good sushi go to waste just because you're more interested in playing kissy-faces with the moon-girl here than you are in eating delicious, freshly made sushi."

Ryuu snorted as he helped Luna to her feet and pulled her towards the exit as Nyanko closed his eyes and continued to extol the virtues of sushi without realizing that Ryuu and Luna had left. Ryuu parted ways with his girlfriend just outside of the kitchen so he could take a quick shower and put on a clean shirt; the one he'd worn earlier having disappeared sometime after he'd removed it earlier that afternoon. He saw the appraising looks he received from the adults when he entered the kitchen fifteen minutes later and he knew his father and godfather would both corner him at some point in the evening.

Whether they had found out about what had happened (through his uncle) or if they were just concerned about the fact that he'd not come to supper when first asked he couldn't say though.

After supper, Ryuu prepared a bowl of food for Tenji and used his bond with the kneazle to find his way to his temporary solitary confinement. He eventually found the cat sitting up in one of the windows of the second story of an unoccupied guest house and Ryuu sighed when the kneazle refused to even look at him. He knew the cat was irritated with him over interrupting his 'fun' with Himiko. It had been the only option he could think of at the time though, as Ryuu had needed to separate the two in order to prevent them from influencing his actions further. He shuddered to think how much harder it would have been to maintain his control after Luna made it clear she didn't want to stop if Tenji had still been in the room with them.

Once inside the house, Ryuu sat down on the floor and set Tenji's food beside him before he pulled out his flute and began playing a few of the festival songs that his mother had taught him years earlier. This accomplished two things, it allowed Ryuu to relax (which in turn would help Tenji calm down and relax due to their bond) and it made the kneazle curious as to what Ryuu was doing. Ryuu could have used his magic to summon the kneazle, much as he did when he summoned the phoenixes, but he wanted his familiar to join him of his own accord not because he'd forced him.

Eventually the cat finally joined him and while Ryuu could still sense a bit of irritation and frustration he could also feel the kneazle's unwavering affection for him that had been born from their seven years together. Pushing the bowl of food closer to Tenji, Ryuu lowered his flute and met the cat's green-yellow eyes and leaned forward to prop his chin in his hands as he planted his elbows on his knees.

"I ought to be mad at you but I can't fault you for being a kneazle," Ryuu stated. "You never hid your interest in Himiko-hime and even I noticed how much time you've been spending with her over the past year. I'm thankful you never showed that much interest in the other cats, kneazles, and half kneazles that roamed around Hogwarts and the Academy."

Ryuu paused as he noted the kneazle watching warily as if waiting for the other shoe to drop and Ryuu sighed as he knew the kneazle knew there was more to come and it would be unpleasant for both of them. Reaching out, Ryuu gently ran a finger down Tenji's nose before scratching the cat beneath the chin for a moment, waiting until Tenji let out a soft purr before he spoke once more, "I'm afraid that as long as Himiko-hime is in heat you're going to have to stay here during the week. I can't afford to lose control like that at school because it would cause too many problems for you, me, and Luna. You'll probably end up spending quite a bit of time in this guest house until I learn how to separate your interest in the little female kneazle from my interest in Luna and I know you won't like that."

When Tenji yowled a complaint, Ryuu countered with, "We could always see about getting you neutered." The seven year old kneazle flattened his ears and hissed a protest in response. "I didn't think you'd be interested in going that route which is why I thought we'd try simple isolation until there is no longer a risk. I know you aren't doing this on purpose and you're just following instinct but unfortunately I can't allow your instinct to continue to affect me or it is going to cause problems for us both."

Ryuu then spent the next hour spoiling the kneazle with attention to make up for the long hours they'd spent apart that afternoon. He even spent part of that time in his animagus form grooming the kneazle which was oddly soothing for both of them; his red panda instincts very similar to the instincts of a kneazle or a cat when it comes to grooming. He also thanked the ancestors that kneazles didn't shed fur as easily as regular cats otherwise he'd probably have ended up with an unpleasant bellyful of cat fur. Shinjin flashed in to join them shortly after Ryuu curled up beside Tenji on the couch, the small spirit phoenix happily nestling beside Ryuu and laying her head just behind his neck as all three of them drifted off to sleep.

They were found there several hours later by Sirius, Hatake, and Takashi; his godfather using the enhanced senses of his animagus form to track Ryuu's scent from the main house to the guest house. Hatake had already filled the other two men in on what had happened to spare the teen from having to admit he'd nearly lost control that afternoon to the other two men. It wasn't so much to spare Ryuu from the embarrassment so much as to allow the two men from jumping to the wrong conclusion or showing their disappointment (both of which would hurt Ryuu far more than any amount of embarrassment would). After watching the two familiars and wizard turned red panda sleeping for a while, Takashi and Hatake left Sirius to watch over them; Sirius stretching out on the floor in his dog form so he would hear Ryuu the moment the teen woke up.

When he went back to school on Sunday night, Tenji was left behind for the first time in seven years and the kneazle was not pleased. Nyanko-sensei ended up sitting on the kneazle at one point because the cat refused to stop yowling mournfully from the moment Ryuu left until two days later. Ryuu wasn't having an easy time of it either as without Tenji by his side he felt the emptiness from Shogun's death more often. Shinjin became more clingy as a result and Ryuu was starting to have serious issues handling the few classes where he wasn't allowed to bring her with him; most notably Potions, Dueling, and Defense. Nights were even worse for the sixteen year old as old nightmares began revisiting his dreams after the second night without his familiar and by the end of the week he was a complete wreck; something all of his teachers noticed.

All of the teachers were aware of Ryuu's familiars and through Hatake had been made aware that there would be a time this year when Ryuu's work may suffer because of his familiar bond. It was a standard warning when familiars finally reached maturity since the animal's behavior could seriously affect the wizard's (or witch's) behavior until they learned to separate their feelings from that of their familiar. They had actually expected Ryuu to be affected nearly four years earlier when his kneazle first reached majority but by that time Tenji had not yet found his mate and once he did, the kneazle had waited for Himiko to mature.

So, the staff had been warned to keep an eye on him during his extracurricular activities so as to prevent any inappropriate behavior. What they hadn't expected was for Ryuu to try and separate himself physically from his familiar in order to prevent a repeat of the close call from over the weekend. Those who knew how the familiar bond functioned were shocked that he would attempt such a thing with his oldest familiar when the bond was as strong as the one he shared with the kneazle (a few hours here and there were no big deal but a forced separation for days over such a long distance was both physically and emotionally painful).

They planned to address the issue the moment his studies showed signs of slipping but to their shock his studies never once suffered despite his suffering. What they didn't know was that Ryuu threw himself into his studies with a vengeance in order to ease the ache he felt for the absent Tenji while battling the emptiness where Shogun's bond had once been.

Ashikaga-shishou had known something was bothering the teen as well, as he watched Ryuu start pushing himself more and more as the week progressed and noticed the disturbing trend of the teen growing more vindictive on the battlefield. That was entirely due to the renewed nightmares about Shogun's death; Ryuu seeing Malfoy's face as the man cut the owl down nearly every time he closed his eyes bringing Ryuu's rage to the surface.

When the aged samurai approached Hatake about the problem, the gray-haired wizard revealed that Ryuu was even more ruthless during their morning dueling sessions and during his sparring sessions in morning ju jitsu classes. Oh, Ryuu didn't seek to hurt anyone during the morning classes or anything like that but he certainly allowed himself to take quite the thrashing every morning during ju jitsu and during the dueling lessons; Hatake had even caught Ryuu transfiguring the dueling dummies to look like Malfoy Senior before destroying them so thoroughly that they couldn't be repaired.

Friday afternoon couldn't come soon enough for Ryuu; he'd packed his things up on Thursday night (leaving only what he would need for the day out) before shrinking his trunk and carrying it around with him as he went through his day. At lunch he warned Luna and his friends that he wouldn't be attending the afternoon study session the group of them usually held in the afternoons when Ryuu turned back his final two hours of the day. He intended to turn back the time and use it to leave early; something he normally would have never considered before this past week. Luna understood, she'd been the most affected by Ryuu's moods all week and blamed herself since it was because of Himiko being in heat that Tenji had been left behind.

Ryuu wasn't seen at all by anyone that weekend once he made it home. He'd left a note saying he was fine and would not leave the house but not to look for him because he didn't want to be found; letting them know that if there was an emergency they could send a note with one of the wild phoenixes that now made their home in the Natsumes' back garden. Additionally, he'd left formal apologies for his advisory council for not attending his weekend meetings. He'd also left a sealed letter for Luna, reminding her several times she was not to blame and letting her know that he needed this time to reconnect with Tenji because they were both suffering from the forced separation.

Ryuu had then taken his kneazle and his phoenix, enough food and water for the weekend, and gone to ground in one of the few hiding holes he'd found shortly after his father had married Taki and the two of them had moved into Taki's family home along with the Fujiwaras.

On Sunday afternoon Ryuu reemerged looking far better than he had Friday afternoon when he'd disappeared and Tenji no longer looked quite so unkempt. The kneazle never once left Ryuu's shoulder, his tail firmly curled around Ryuu's neck; not even when the still very much in heat Himiko tried to tempt the male. Over time that constant need for contact between familiar and wizard would fade but one lasting effect the enforced separation had was that Tenji and Ryuu's bond was stronger than ever, surpassing the close bond he had with Nyanko for the first time in seven years.

The kneazle also showed a marked increase in intelligence from the strengthened bond; showing for the first time an understanding of written words, an increased sensitivity to even the smallest white lies, and an ability to detect dark magic, poisons, and harmful curses. And while Tenji had always been able to anticipate Ryuu's needs through Ryuu's use of whistles and tunes (from before he'd regained his voice), that ability had been amplified to the point that the kneazle now often anticipated Ryuu's needs before Ryuu was even aware of the need.

Ryuu would spend the rest of October learning how to separate and mute his and the kneazle's emotions so that there'd never again come a time when he was forced to leave the kneazle behind for even a single day. It also meant that when Shinjin finally reached her maturity (which would be in another two years yet unless her premature first burning date affected her far more than they originally believed) that Ryuu wouldn't have to worry about the phoenix's baser instincts affecting his judgment because he'll have already learned how to control that part of the connection. So while that single week of torture had been difficult for both wizard and kneazle they both ended up stronger for it as well as having gained a new understanding of each other.

Ryuu's relationship with Luna also showed a marked improvement as the two teens grew even closer. They didn't rush into the physical side of the relationship, instead spending more time talking about what they wanted in the future; careers, family, dreams, and things they wished to avoid. Luna, of course, wished to work with magical creatures and with the mostly unseen youkai and other spirits. Ryuu on the other hand wasn't certain what he wanted to do, though he was well aware that he had several career offers already on the table. He thought maybe he'd like to teach or possibly become a healer but at other times considered taking a non-magical career instead as he still fully intended going to university once Voldemort had been dealt with once and for all.

Both of them wished for a large family with at least three or four children at some point; both of them having grown up as only children for the most part and both of them remembered how lonely they had been in their younger years. Ryuu had discovered first hand how much he enjoyed being around little children after his baby brother was born and over the past two years had only grown fonder of the eternally happy toddler. That Luna also loved both his brother and children in general was a bonus since the more time the two of them spent with one another the more certain they became that they would end up spending their lives together.

Luna had always known that but knew better than to push the matter because she didn't want to frighten her Dragon or drive him away by accident. There had even been talk about a formal betrothal but Luna was hesitant and so long as she was against the idea Ryuu would follow her lead. Their short term dreams were somewhat similar as Luna wished to travel the world discovering new magical creatures and researching existing ones while Ryuu would enjoy traveling around the world learning new types of magic or even just meeting with various experts in the fields he enjoyed most; such as music, wards, runes, healing, and enchantment.

Luna also fully expected to one day take over the Quibbler from her father and she wanted to see it go from a mostly British publication that was considered a joke by most purebloods to a respected world-wide publication and foremost authority on the unusual. Ryuu thought it an excellent idea and asked her if she ever considered asking the twins if they'd be willing to sell copies of the Quibbler in their stores; that suggestion had earned Ryuu a toe curling kiss that left him grinning for hours.

All good things must come to an end though and the month ended on a low note for Ryuu. The thirty-first, Halloween, fell on a Thursday that year and Ryuu had been nervous about how things would go at Azkaban when Riddle broke out his imprisoned Death Eaters (only they were mostly decoys) for a couple of days prior to Halloween.

It didn't help that he was approached by Yamamoto before breakfast that Thursdays morning about an emergency request from Madam Pomfrey about a student that had apparently come in contact with a cursed necklace earlier in the month. The curse was slowly killing the seventeen year old who turned out to be Katie Bell, one of Fred and George's teammates from when the twins had been on the Gryffindor Quidditch team and the girl Colin had taken to the Yule Ball in Ryuu's fourth year.

Ryuu had instantly agreed to help, he'd liked Katie even though they weren't really close friends or anything, but he'd made more than one scathing remark about it taking so long for the Hogwarts' healer to ask for help since apparently Katie had first been cursed on a Hogsmeade weekend around the middle of the month. His mood did not improve when immediately upon arriving at the school he ran into Draco Malfoy who'd returned to Hogwarts once word got out that Ryuu had 'run' back to Japan in fear. (Lies spread by the purebloods that were supportive of the Dark Lord's beliefs if not actually Death Eaters.)

Malfoy made the mistake of taunting Ryuu about the loss of Shogun (which Ryuu was still feeling sharply after his forced separation from Tenji just weeks earlier) and Ryuu happily put Malfoy in his place. Dumbledore had the audacity to scold Ryuu for hitting Malfoy in the family jewels with a powerful jolt from his Shock Staff (twice the pain with just one solid tap) but Ryuu simply gave the bearded wizard a disdainful glare before heading off to prep the Secure Chamber so he could help Katie.

Dumbledore was further put out when Ryuu refused to allow the Headmaster to watch the extraction process; the old wizard one of the few who knew about Ryuu's abilities to remove and purify the tainted magic from curses but had never seen the actual process. It took Ryuu over four hours to break the hold the dark magic had on the seventeen year old witch; the length of time it had been allowed to spread having allowed it to take a greater hold on her magical core. Had he been called the day she'd first touched the cursed object, he'd have been able to deal with the curse in less than an hour.

Once he'd finished pulling the curse from Katie, he'd dealt with the necklace so that it would never again harm another before giving the necklace to Moody so the grizzled ex-Auror could try and find out who had given it to Katie and where it had come from so they could prevent another occurrence. Before he left, Ryuu told Madam Pomfrey to inform him immediately the next time a student had been cursed with dark magic because pulling the tainted magic from them after it had been allowed to entwine itself into the magical core was dangerous to both Ryuu and the patient; that was especially true in the cases where the curse was lethal instead of just damaging or disfiguring.

On his way out of the castle, Ryuu was confronted by no less than six undesirable peoples; Dumbledore again to chastise him and try and talk him into coming back to the school, Ginny Weasley who'd tried to manhandle Tenji and Shinji (she'd returned to Hogwarts in Ryuu's fourth year as a second year after she'd finally gotten the help she'd needed to deal with everything that had happened in her first year), Ron Weasley who called Ryuu a coward and a jerk for the way Ryuu had told Ginny off for bothering his familiars, Draco Malfoy who hadn't learned his lesson from earlier, and Malfoy's two bookends whose names Ryuu never bothered to learn.

Dumbledore was ignored, Ginny fled crying after Ryuu had yelled at her and Tenji had bit and scratched her, and the four sixth year wizards were left clutching their crotches as Ryuu repeated his earlier performance and shocked them with his charged hanbo.

By the time Ryuu returned to Japan, he was irritated and exhausted on top of his earlier anxiety and he ended up skipping supper and spending all evening in the dojo sparring with a couple of training dummies to burn off his frustration. When Healer Inoue found him the healer had literally pulled him through the castle by the ear as he berated the sixteen year old for abusing his body on top of his magical exhaustion.

It had been an embarrassing lesson for Ryuu; never piss off your healer where the general school population can see the results. The only good thing to come out of that humiliating encounter was that Ryuu would spend the next twelve hours blissfully removed from his worries as Inoue slipped him a sleeping potion along with the general healing and magical core rejuvenator he'd given him.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _My brain fried and the note I wanted to write vanished into smoke… There are only three more chapter to post after this and the next chapter will be up sometime within the next seven days. ~ Jenn  
><em>


	50. An Anticlimactic Battle

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 49: An Anticlimactic Battle of Epic Proportions<span>

_Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan  
>Graveyard, Little Hangleton, England<br>November 1996 ~ December 1996_

It was lunchtime on the first of November when Ryuu finally received word about the expected attack on Azkaban Prison. Voldemort had attacked the island prison as expected only he didn't free his 'followers' as he'd originally planned. Instead, the now insane Dark Lord (not that he'd ever really been all that sane) had 'murdered' those who had once been the worst of his Death Eaters and most loyal supporters as well as all of the other 'prisoners'. In short, the Dark Lord had gone to the prison, not to free his captured Death Eaters but to destroy them (except for Bellatrix because he needed her to get what he believed was his last remaining horcrux).

He'd gone from cell to cell and used high powered blasting curses to destroy the decoys (though he had no clue they were decoys) along with any other prisoners or guards he happened to come across. He'd also collected the last remaining dementors (less than thirty) and Bellatrix before he'd vanished into the night leaving behind what would have been close to five hundred dead if not for the fact that most of the prisoners had already been relocated. The entire prison had also been destroyed so thoroughly that it would be impossible to repair the original building.

In actuality, only three guards and eight prisoners had died during the attack. It was a bit of a blow as they'd hoped that the decoys would have helped them not only track Voldemort to his current hideout but also removed a number of his followers. They wondered if someone had leaked word of their plan to the Dark Lord but there was no proof and if that was the case he could have saved himself a lot of trouble if he'd just grabbed Bellatrix and the dementors instead of expending a huge amount of power (power that he couldn't afford to spare according to Snape) laying waste to the decoys. Ryuu speculated that Voldemort's paranoia and belief in the false prophecy were driving the inhuman wizard insane when coupled with the instability of his mutilated soul.

An Auror was planted in Gringotts to monitor the lobby for Bellatrix so they would know when the Dark Lord sent her to fetch Hufflepuff's cup. The goblins were actually cooperating by allowing said Auror to be stationed in the lobby after they were given a sworn oath that the wizard or witch would not attack their clients for any reason; even if the client was Bellatrix. It was an easy oath to give because the Auror was not there to capture or kill the Death Eater; they just wanted to know when she would be sent after the bait. While he waited, Ryuu spent his free time (what little of it there was) researching the life of Tom M. Riddle through the diadem, Dumbledore's research, and the limited public records that were available from that time period in an effort to determine where the Dark Lord might have gone to ground.

It wasn't until Natori-san showed Ryuu how to key a handful of youkai into the protective ward he wore a couple of days after Halloween that Ryuu hit upon the idea of using the youkai to hunt for Voldemort and anyone branded with the Dark Mark. He had contracts for close to three thousand youkai in his half of the Yujincho and while he'd cleansed hundreds of them of the dark magic that had twisted their souls during his fifth year, not all of them had had their names in the Book of Friends. He bounced his idea off his father, his uncle, and his godfathers (both legal and honorary) and his father suggested bringing Natori-san in on the plan since the older exorcist could help them seal those demons that were too dangerous to let lose on the general population; even under contract.

They began implementing the plan that weekend, traveling to Hogsmeade where Ryuu summoned all of the nargles and wrackspurts that he knew were harmless and asked them to search for Voldemort. It had taken some fast talking to convince the easily frightened creatures to help but Ryuu promised to find them a home since they were currently scattered all over the place and constantly living in fear (the exception being the ones that hung about Luna all the time). Next he summoned the pixies and doxies that had helped him over the course of the previous school year and sent them to searching as well.

He knew there weren't enough of them to cover all of England, Scotland, and Wales but there was enough of them present to start and he also knew that the 'nargles' and the 'wrackspurts' would draw others of their kind into the search. He held off on summoning the more powerful youkai until they had a better idea of where Voldemort was currently hiding so as not to accidentally unleash a vindictive youkai on the general population.

The next idea Ryuu had, one he'd considered during his war with Umbridge but never got around to actually implementing, was to start linking his advanced Map Table to key locations throughout Britain. The list would include Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley, the Leaky Cauldron, the Ministry of Magic, the Prime Minister's office, St. Mungo's Hospital, King's Cross Station (both the muggle and magical sides), the Queen's main residences, and several known Death Eater's homes (Malfoy Manor was the first one Ryuu had added). There were other places scheduled to be added to a forth table over time (potential muggle targets, magical places of interest or high traffic areas, and for the Death Eater homes filled the first three tables).

His uncle suggested mapping the homes possible high profile targets such as the Minister of Magic, Department Heads, or those people who were a threat to Voldemort or his Death Eaters. The one place they were not allowed to map was Gringotts Bank since it was likely to start a war and Ryuu had no desire to upset the goblins (Ryuu having to make adjustments to the wards placed in Diagon Alley to prevent them from penetrating the bank's wards).

The day after Ryuu set up the Map for St. Mungo's, over thirty near dead Death Eaters had been arrested in the magical hospital and moved to a secure facility where they were treated for their injuries before being shipped off to Nurmengard. Apparently, Voldemort was growing more and more vicious in his treatment of his followers and from the statements taken from the recently captured Death Eaters he'd killed more than twenty of the older Death Eaters after accusing them of turning on him. They also learned that the Dark Lord was recruiting more and more dark creatures (so long as they were mindless) to replace the lost Death Eater forces; including more dementors from around the world (dementors that the Dark Lord allowed to freely feed and breed in large numbers).

A small handful of trustworthy Aurors were set to monitoring the maps twenty-four/seven while Ryuu continued to train and attend classes during the week and hunt for Voldemort on the weekends. They would pick up another dozen Death Eaters through those efforts though both Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange were suspiciously absent from Malfoy Manor and the Lestrange home and never spoken of by those Death Eaters they managed to capture.

The only good thing was the fact that there had been no large scale Death Eater raids as there had been during Voldemort's first rise though the dementors were more than making up for the lack of wizard led attacks. The dementors were easily rounded up and captured but they were breeding so quickly that Ryuu was having trouble keeping up with the huge numbers that were being rounded up on a daily basis. He'd tried calling up his rage fueled patronus more than once in hopes that it could be sent out to take care of a number of dementors on its own but so far he hadn't had any luck.

Finally, two weeks after being broken out of Azkaban, Bellatrix was seen entering Diagon Alley by one of the Aurors monitoring the map. Confirmation that she'd collected the 'cup' from her vault came forty minutes after that and the tracking rune that Ryuu had carved into the bottom of the fake cup (by request of his advisors a week before the destruction of Azkaban) allowed them to track her to the small town of Little Hangleton before the signal from the tracking rune was lost. It was Ryuu that drew the connection between Little Hangleton and Voldemort through Dumbledore's research notes. At the same time he'd learned that it had been the graveyard in Little Hangleton where he'd witnessed Voldemort's rebirth at the end of his fourth year. Alliance Forces were then sent to drop the ward stones to map the three most likely places Voldemort would go to ground in Little Hangleton; the Riddle Mansion, the Gaunt Shack, and the graveyard where he'd been reborn.

Knowing the general location also made it easier for Ryuu to direct the youkai searching for Voldemort; giving them a smaller are to comb instead of trying to have them search an entire country (or three). It was about that time that Ryuu finally started calling upon the more powerful youkai whose names were in the Yujincho. More than a few of the demons he recognized from the years he spent at the Dursleys and it took a lot of self control for him not to run away screaming as he faced the nightmarish faces from his past.

His father's, Nyanko's, and Natori-san's presence helped him to deal with the twisted youkai though, through their ability to control or contain the demons until Ryuu could cleanse them; after which he'd release them from their contracts and either request their aide or seal them if they proved to be dangerous. Each subsequent encounter helping to further break the hold the youkai held over Ryuu and put to rest his nightmares and fears that had haunted him for so long.

When he wasn't dealing with the youkai and while they waited for the Dark Lord to show himself, Ryuu threw himself back into his training and his studies with a vengeance. He probably wouldn't have taken any time out just to relax and hang out with his friends if not for girlfriend's insistence during the week and his brother's stubbornness on the weekends. The rest of his friends and family helped as well but if not for Luna and Kenji he would have grown cold and distant as he obsessed over destroying the Dark Lord once and for all. Takashi and Hatake watched Ryuu closely during this time; both men thinking often of the prophecy that the centaur had given them around the middle of Ryuu's fourth year at Hogwarts. They noted the influence that Luna, Kenji, and Nyanko-sensei had over Ryuu's moods and actions and hoped that it would be enough to keep Ryuu strong when the time came for the teen to face the Dark Lord.

It didn't take long for those monitoring the three locations in Little Hangleton to suspect that a portion of the Riddle Mansion had been placed under a Fidelius Charm. The dots moving about the house would suddenly disappear in the same general area while others mysteriously reappeared from near the same point. The only logical explanation was that the room had been hidden using a Fidelius Charm because no other spells or wards had been able to interfere with the mapping wards that Ryuu had designed (not even unplottable wards could fool the mapping wards).

A few of the Aurors tried to tell him he was imagining things because it would make far more sense to put the entire mansion under the charm; not just a single room. But Ryuu knew the entire house couldn't be placed under the charm if it was known to a large enough number of people (the same reason why Ryuu couldn't lock away the legend of the Hallows) but a room or series of rooms within the mansion would have been easy to hide in comparison. It had been a bit disappointing for Ryuu to find a possible flaw in his mapping wards but he wouldn't know for certain until he could prove that a Fidelius Charm had been used. It would also explain why the tracking rune had stopped working and why the youkai in that area had not been able to find the Dark Lord. To verify this theory, Ryuu hunted down Severus Snape.

"Snape-san," Ryuu called as he entered the potions lab beneath Fred and George's District Seven shop.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Natsume?" Snape replied as he looked up from the row of cauldrons he was currently using to brew some of the advanced healing potions the twins sold in their shop.

"I had a couple of questions I needed to ask you about Voldemort's base," Ryuu replied as he snagged on of the stools from the numerous brewing tables and sat down where he could help with the potions that Snape was brewing. "As you will recall, we tracked Lestrange to Little Hangleton before all traces of her vanished. Despite the tracking rune failing, we were able to determine three potential locations where Voldemort could have gone to ground."

"Yes… the Gaunt Shack, the Riddle Manor, and the Little Hangleton graveyard. I already told Mr. Hatake that the manor was were most of the Death Eater meetings were held for the last year though I do not know if the Dark Lord is currently hiding there. Until you traced Bella's movements with the cup I had not even known where the manor was located due to the method the Dark Lord used to summon us through the Dark Mark; he would call and we'd follow the link right to his side."

"I already knew that," Ryuu countered as he glanced over the instructions for the potent bruise balm that the twins had created with Snape's help and noted which step the potion was on before he added the next ingredient and stirred the bubbling concoction. "What I want to know is if Voldemort placed a portion of the Riddle Manor under a Fidelius Charm. And if he did, who he would have trusted to be the Secret Keeper."

"It is possible," Snape hedged after a moment, a frown marring his brow as he shredded handfuls of stinging nettles while wearing a pair of dragon hide gloves. "I was not allowed in certain portions of the manor because I was not fully trusted due to the amount of time I was required to spend near Dumbledore. He would not have trusted anyone but himself to be his Secret Keeper though."

"I was afraid of that…" Ryuu muttered as he dumped the nettles Snape passed to him into the cauldron he was monitoring and stirred the potion until the green leaves had been completely dissolved before lowering the heat to allow it to simmer before moving onto the next cauldron, which held the antidote to the Puking Pastilles. "Do you know which of his Death Eaters would have been strong enough to perform the binding? And did you meet at the Riddle Manor during the late seventies when you first joined the Death Eaters or was it only after Voldemort's rebirth?"

"We met in many different locations during the Dark Lord's first rise," Snape answered as he turned to check on the Pepper Up potion he was brewing. "I had never personally been to the manor in Little Hangleton until after the end of your fourth year, after he had been reborn but that doesn't mean it wasn't used." He paused to add the two ounces of powdered Red Savina Habanero pepper. "Roughly half of the Dark Lord's inner circle could have performed the spells; Lucius Malfoy, all three Lestranges, Walden McNair, the Carrows, Augustus Rookwood, or me. Pettigrew, Rosier, Avery, Nott, Mulciber, Jugson, Goyle, Crabbe, Karkaroff, Rowle, and Travers would have been far too weak and the rest the Dark Lord never would have trusted. And the Dark Lord himself would have been capable of casting the charm."

"Of those with enough power to cast the spell, how many of them would have actually known how to cast the Fidelius Charm?"

"The Dark Lord without a doubt, Rookwood (he was an Unspeakable), Malfoy (he had many ties within the Ministry), and possibly Bella (the Blacks knew a lot of obscure and deadly magic so she might have stumbled across it there)."

"So… if the Dark Lord knew the spell why wouldn't he have used it to hide his horcruxes?" Ryuu mused to himself as he absently stirred the potion he was helping with while adding the next ingredient to the antidote, his mind running off on three different tangents as he considered what Snape had just told him. "He doesn't really trust any of his followers and he wouldn't have trusted anyone with the truth of what the horcruxes were; in fact, only two of them were actually entrusted to his followers. The diary was given to Malfoy and the cup to Lestrange; but even then I doubt he told them exactly what they were. The rest of them were hidden elsewhere under deadly enchantments or behind impenetrable wards but not hidden with a Fidelius."

"You're rambling nonsense," Snape dryly pointed out as he took both the Pepper Up potion and the bruise balm off the fire and set them aside to cool.

"Possibly," Ryuu agreed. "Who was Voldemort closest to after his rebirth?"

"He spent nearly all of his time in the company of Malfoy or Pettigrew during that first summer. I am not aware of anyone else spending as much time with the Dark Lord; though most of my time that first summer was spent brewing all manner of healing potions and dark concoctions to stabilize the Dark Lord's body and those two were the only ones I ever saw in the room with the Dark Lord when I delivered said potions."

"He spent most of my fourth year sequestered away with Pettigrew," Ryuu recalled as he leaned back out of the way as Snape took over finishing the antidote now that the other two potions were finished. "Pettigrew wasn't strong enough to cast the Fidelius and Voldemort would have been too weak since he hadn't yet regained his body yet. What about Barty Crouch Jr.? Could he have cast the Fidelius?"

"Possibly, I didn't know Crouch that well and never crossed paths with him either during my Hogwarts years or during the years I served the Dark Lord after Hogwarts. His father was powerful though and was the Head of the DMLE right up until his son was convicted and thrown into Azkaban."

"Spent less than a year there before his father broke him out and kept him under house arrest using the Imperius Curse," Ryuu added with a short nod. "He helped plan and carry out Voldemort's rebirth during my fourth year as well by taking the place of Moody-san. And he had been unable to tell us where Voldemort was hiding so… either he didn't know or he was unable to say anything because of the Fidelius Charm. We already know it wasn't Lestrange who helped him cast it because it was obviously in place before she was let out; otherwise I doubt the rune would have stopped transmitting her location. So that means she had to know the secret before she went to get the cup and that supports your belief that Voldemort would be his own Keeper. Unless of course the secret had been cast before his downfall in nineteen-eighty-one."

"Is there a point to you coming down here and disturbing me with your nonsensical mutterings?" Snape demanded as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You mean besides annoying you?"

"Impertinent brat."

"What can I say…? I'm a natural and you're easily annoyed," Ryuu quipped as he slipped off the stool and ducked out of range of Snape's half-hearted swipe. "Actually I'd just wanted to ask you about the Fidelius and who Voldemort would have trusted aside from himself and you already answered that question; your answer pretty much matching my guess. I had hoped I could find a way to exploit any trust he showed his followers but since he doesn't actually trust anyone… well that means I need to find another way to draw him out."

"Draw him out? You're the one who sent him into hiding," Snape mockingly pointed out as he added the final ingredient to the antidote and brought the potion to a boil while he vigorously stirred it counterclockwise. "He raged for an entire year as his newly made body literally fought against him every step of the way. The Dark Lord began to make plans at that point only for the article about Umbridge's trial to come out; the news that some of the most prominent leaders in the world had witnessed you survive a third killing curse drove him into a frightful fury."

Snape paused as he cut the flames from under the cauldron before he glanced up at Ryuu and continued, "He'd already been trying to get his hands on the prophecy through his Death Eaters and other weak-willed Ministry employees but he became desperate after reading about everything that had happened that day. He hadn't originally planned to lead the raid on the Ministry in May but after those articles he didn't want to risk the prophecy getting lost. So he charged in and took the prophecy; gloating left and right that no one could stand up to him. Once he had the prophecy in hand he left so he could listen to it alone; he didn't want his followers to know the details in case it spoke of his defeat."

"Whatever the prophecy said only made things worse as he was driven mad and desperate. Driven mad because of whatever it was you left for him to find. It was at that point that he began seeking out his horcruxes, Lucius paid dearly when the Dark Lord learned the diary had been destroyed. The next one he checked on was the locket… and you know how that one turned out. I don't know how he reacted to the losses of the other items but I can't imagine it was pleasant or pretty…"

"You're a genius!" Ryuu crowed as he interrupted Snape's narrative unexpectedly and dashed out of the room, leaving behind a completely confused and disgruntled potion master who had no idea what he had said to set the teen off.

Around sunset on December twenty-ninth Ryuu could be found standing in the middle of the Little Hangleton graveyard seemingly completely alone. He was dressed in his samurai officer's uniform, his hanbo and both of his wakizashi swords were strapped across his back, and propped in front of his mouth was his pan flute (the flute disillusioned so it couldn't be seen). He also had both of his wands, the Yujincho, and all three of the Deathly Hallows with him; the three wands holstered in their usual places, the stone hanging from a chain around his neck, the cloak tucked down the back of his shirt, and the Book of Friends tucked into a hidden pouch in his uniform where it would be both safe and close at hand should he need it. Hanging from his left shoulder was a bag that held magical copies of each of the horcruxes that Ryuu had destroyed along with the original diary (the only two missing being the snake his familiars had destroyed and the one that had been in his scar) and a couple of other useful items.

He'd spent the last two and a half weeks painstakingly warding the entire graveyard under cover of darkness in order to prevent the graves of the dead from being destroyed during the anticipated battle and to prevent anyone with even an ounce of dark magic tainting them from escaping the area once they stepped foot inside of the graveyard. While he'd been doing that, his allies from around the world had been layering the graveyard with traps and creating hiding places for those that would be providing back-up for Ryuu should Voldemort bring his entire army. Currently there were well over two hundred policemen, aurors, soldiers, samurai, and other powerful wizards patiently waiting to see if Voldemort would take the bait.

The moment the last traces of sunlight faded from the sky, Ryuu conjured a messenger patronus and sent it to deliver his message to the Dark Lord. He watched the ethereal form of Shogun streak across the night sky as the owl patronus headed straight for Riddle Manor and Ryuu smiled grimly over the confirmation that Voldemort was currently holed up somewhere inside of the ruined mansion. Now he just had to wait for the Dark Lord to send his minions to attack him (one probable outcome) or for the Dark Lord to personally show up (the desired outcome).

"Message sent," Ryuu murmured as he pressed the rune button on his hidden communicator.

"_Roger that, boss_," Lee replied over the line. "_Will let you know the moment the viper stirs from his nest_."

Ryuu brushed his hand over the bag of fake horcruxes and scanned the graveyard to make certain nothing was out of place. He felt no fear in regards to the upcoming confrontation but that didn't mean he wasn't slightly nervous since there were so many things that could go wrong. He also worried that he wouldn't be able to keep his temper in check should Voldemort decide to make the trade Ryuu had offered him.

"_Hey, boss, the viper has left the pit and he's dragging two field mice_," Lee's voice cut in through Ryuu's thoughts several minutes later. "_He is also followed by a pair of soul suckers and what appear to be several dozen… spiders?_"

"Is he bringing the correct two mice?" Ryuu inquired softly as he briefly knelt down to charge a power rune carved into the dirt as his feet to activate the dementor ward that would prevent the two dementors from leaving once they'd crossed into the graveyard. "Spiders? Their most likely acromantula then… chikushou… I'd hoped he'd just stick with the dementors or wizards. Prepare to activate the swamps the moment the spiders attempt to leave the graveyard; the wards won't hold them unless they are being controlled by dark magic."

"_Yes… he's bringing both Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange_," Lee replied after a moment. "_A close up view through the map revealed that they were bound and gagged and are being floated along behind his ugliness. Acromantulas have been confirmed as well; all of them roughly the size of a small pony. We've got eight swamps ready for deployment and one hundred glue bombs in the event they manage to bypass the swamps._"

"Good… let's keep on our toes folks… he's bound to have something else up his sleeve if he's daring to come out here with so little protection. I'm closing out my side of the connection now but will still receive," Ryuu called back before he closed the connection and buried his hands in his pocket so he could wrap one hand around the Elder Wand.

"_The spiders aren't entering the graveyard boss, they're spreading out around the perimeter_," Lee announced two minutes later. "_He's also had another four soul suckers join the party_."

Ryuu nodded as he knew at least one person who would be watching him intently on the zoomed map of the graveyard. Half a dozen dementors would be of no consequence to him; even if they started splitting themselves in order to increase their numbers. The acromantula would have been an issue but apparently Voldemort had brought them along to make certain Ryuu was alone or prevent anyone else from joining him. A slight smile crossed Ryuu's face as he knew they'd find nothing in their search because there were no less than twelve Illusionists stationed around the cemetery using their talent to hide all traces of the allied forces that were hiding both inside and outside of the graveyard.

Twenty-five minutes after sending off his message, Ryuu watched as the Dark Lord strode boldly through the overgrown paths leading to the center of the graveyard where Ryuu waited for him. Floating through the air behind him were Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange; both Death Eaters unconscious and tightly bound in magical ropes and chains. Ryuu squashed the rising rage inside of him as he caught sight of the man who'd murdered his familiar and instead focused on the gruesome visage of Voldemort. Ryuu felt the urge to vomit as he took in the physical changes that the Dark Lord had undergone since the last time he'd seen the former wizard in Moody's memory of the day Voldemort had stolen the prophecy from the Ministry.

When he'd first risen out of the cauldron on the night he'd been reborn, the man had been ugly; completely hairless, his face slightly distorted due to the snake-like features, and a green tinge to his skin. Now though, the man's face only vaguely resembled that of a human's with the way the skull was dented in on the left side near the back, his ears had slipped down till they were practically brushing against Voldemort's robes, and there were places where the skin looked as if it had been cooked until it peeled away from the bone and muscle beneath it. Ryuu could tell he was in considerable pain just by the way he walked with exaggerated care with his back slightly hunched over.

"I brought the scum you asked for… where are my treasures?" Voldemort demanded the moment he saw Ryuu standing alone.

"How do I know you didn't just transfigure a pair of rocks into two of your most trusted Death Eaters to trick me?" Ryuu asked boldly without letting his eyes waver while he sent a small shockwave of magic out around him to search for the missing dementors. "Or Polyjuiced a pair of lesser Death Eaters instead?"

"I suppose I could ask you the same question… how do I know you aren't lying to me?"

"So… it seems were at an impasse," Ryuu drawled lazily as he shrugged his left shoulder. "I knew you would doubt my word; just as I'm certain you knew I would doubt your word so I came prepared." He pulled one hand out of his pocket and reached into the bag of fake horcruxes and pulled out the ruined diary; the only horcrux that still carried the taint of Voldemort's dark magic on it. "This is the horcrux that Lucius Malfoy gave another student in my second year; I destroyed it right after I destroyed the basilisk that was housed in the Chamber of Secrets. This I will give back to you free of charge to prove to you that I am telling you the truth."

Ryuu flung the damaged diary across the twenty or so feet that separated him from the Dark Lord. He then tucked his left hand back in his pocket, his right hand still firmly grasping the Elder Wand in the event that Voldemort dared to attack him. He remained silent as Voldemort cast several detection spells on the diary (confirming it was what Ryuu claimed it was as well as making certain Ryuu hadn't placed any harmful spells on it in return). After several minutes, the Dark Lord bent down and picked up the near severed book and slipped it inside of his robe before glaring at Ryuu.

"All this proves is that Malfoy betrayed my trust," Voldemort spat as he kicked the blonde at his feet.

Ryuu smirked as if that was exactly what he expected to hear before he countered with, "And you have yet to prove that you've actually brought the two that I asked for."

"I refuse to sit here for an hour just to prove to you that I have brought that which you demanded," Voldemort spat. "I can kill you now and simply take what is mine."

"You could try… but you and I both know that you failed each and every time you have tried in the past," Ryuu replied as he gave Voldemort a feral grin. "We both know that you are desperate to get your hands on these little treasures. Face it… every single one of the horcruxes you created was stolen right out from under your nonexistent nose or destroyed. Dumbledore has been researching your life since shortly after you left Hogwarts; did you really think he wouldn't find out about the horcruxes?"

"And just how did you steal my treasures out from Dumbledore's nose? And why would you want to trade them for these pathetic pieces of trash?"

"Revenge… Dumbledore did not agree with my sworn promise to end the Malfoy line," Ryuu spat with true rage as he glanced at the unconscious man in question. "That man murdered my familiar and I will avenge my beloved owl and that woman took away something precious from a dear friend of mine."

"My, my; Dumbledore's little toy solider isn't quite as white as he's been painted," Voldemort laughed softly as he gave what could have been a smile if not for the fact that Voldemort's mouth and face were distorted.

"I was never Dumbledore's pawn; Dumbledore would have made me a sacrificial lamb to be led to the slaughter," Ryuu countered darkly. "You see; Dumbledore knew you'd made me into a horcrux the night you murdered my parents. He thought if I was trained I'd end up turning out just like you because that tiny piece of soul inside of me would influence me."

"Lies!"

"_Are you certain about that?_" Ryuu hissed in parcel tongue as he tapped into the magic he'd absorbed after he purified the diadem, his scar, the locket, the ring, and the cup. "_How did you think I defeated the basilisk or even broke into the Chamber of Secrets?_"

Voldemort narrowed his eyes as he stared at Ryuu, "You've destroyed two of my horcruxes then, Potter."

"Natsume, my name is Natsume Ryuu. Just as your name is Voldemort not Tom Marvolo Riddle," Ryuu shot back with a glare. "I've not been so crude as to throw your past in your face the least you can do is pretend you have manners enough not to do the same."

"As if you can do anything to harm me, Potter," Voldemort taunted back.

In reply Ryuu reached into the bag he wore and pulled out the copy of Slytherin's locket and dropped it on the ground at his feet as he pulled out the Elder Wand and cast Fiendfyre on the golden locket. Voldemort screamed in fury as the locket was devoured in seconds while Ryuu created an illusion of the soul fragment rising from the molten mess using the hidden pan flute.

"Oops…" Ryuu blithely announced as the small burning owl made of pure flames was smothered by the wards embedded in Ryuu's robes when it tried to turn on him after destroying the fake locket. "I hope that piece of your soul wasn't that important to you… after all there are four more in existence, ne?"

"I will kill you for that!" Voldemort raged as he lifted his wand as if to strike Ryuu down.

"I wonder what would happen to a horcrux if it is hit by the killing curse," Ryuu mused as he casually pulled the bag containing the fakes around so it sat in front of his chest instead of hanging down at his side.

Voldemort's non-existent nostrils flared as he lowered his wand and glared even more hatefully at Ryuu as the sixteen year old smiled at the once terrifying wizard. "What do you want?"

"Proof that the pieces of trash at your feet are who you claim them to be," Ryuu replied without hesitation. "We've been here arguing with each other for nearly twenty minutes; surely another forty minutes wouldn't be too long to wait? Unless you would be willing to dose the two of them with Veritaserum and ask them directly?"

"I suppose you have the truth serum on hand?" Voldemort ground out as he tightened his grip on his wand.

"Yes, Snivellus used to keep gallons of the stuff on hand when he was the Potions professor at Hogwarts," Ryuu replied as he fished out two vials of thick gray sludge and a vial of clear liquid out from the bag. "I must say you are rather hard on your minions; must be kind of hard to find good help if you constantly torture them so thoroughly. I heard Snape bled to death in the entrance hall at Hogwarts." Ryuu levitated the two doses of purger (the gray sludge) over to Voldemort after he finished taunting the Dark Lord about Snape's supposed death before ordering, "Feed them the purger first… I don't want there to be any doubt that they are telling the truth."

Voldemort sneered as he plucked the two vials out of the air but complied; Ryuu was holding his horcruxes hostage after all and the Dark Lord was just desperate enough to do practically anything to get his hands on one of his horcruxes. Not that there were any horcruxes left but what the Dark Lord didn't know would hurt him soon enough. Ryuu tried not to smirk as Voldemort woke both Death Eaters and poured the sludge into their mouths before ordering them to swallow the potion.

While the base potion was indeed a potion 'flusher' and well known to clear out all unwanted potions from a witch's or wizard's body; the twins had added a second potion into the mix especially for that particular batch. It was a small potion they called Liquid Lies that would normally just make a person exaggerate when they boasted of their accomplishments. However, when combined with Veritaserum, the lie potion would force the person to lie even though they tried to tell the truth. Mixing it with the purger meant that the purger wouldn't recognize the Liquid Lies as a separate potion and therefore would not purge it when it purged the rest.

Fifteen minutes later, Ryuu placed a single drop of the Veritaserum onto his tongue and declared in a monotone voice that he had Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, and the old Gaunt Ring to prove that the potion worked before he floated the vial of truth serum over to Voldemort. He quickly took the antidote to the truth serum before Voldemort could ask him any questions (it wouldn't do to let the Dark Lord know he'd been tricked after all) and then watched as the Dark Lord placed three drops of the clear potion into each Death Eater's mouths. When the Dark Lord attempted to pass it back, Ryuu told him he could keep it since he didn't trust the Dark Lord not to try cursing the potion or Ryuu during the exchange. Voldemort then silenced Lucius before ordering Bellatrix to speak her name.

"Walden McNair."

"Not possible! Speak your name!"

"Walden McNair."

"Where is Bella!?" Voldemort screamed.

"She's safe in the manor where you ordered her to stay when you instructed me to drink the Polyjuice potion," Bellatrix intoned as she struggled and fought to tell the truth, her eyes bugging out comically.

"That's not possible!" Voldemort spat.

"I feared you'd try to trick me," Ryuu replied as he pulled Hufflepuff's cup from the bag and set it down on the ground before casting Fiendfyre a second time. Voldemort screamed a second time and cast an Avada Kedavra at Bellatrix before he cast a second one at Ryuu. Having expected such a move, Ryuu pulled the fake diadem out from his bag and threw it in the path of the curse as he dropped down onto his stomach and created a third illusion of the destruction of a soul fragment as the curse struck the diadem head on before dropping onto the ground where it sat smoking. "I guess I was correct when I assumed a killing curse could destroy a horcrux. You're now down to two horcruxes, unless you have any others out there hiding (which I doubt you do), just me and the ring. And if you dare attempt to kill me again I will destroy the ring without any hesitation."

Ryuu could practically see the steam pouring from Voldemort's deformed ears as the Dark Lord silently fumed and clutched his wand with both hands. Ryuu then noticed that Voldemort's skin was curling and flaking off and he couldn't help but wonder if using costly spells like the Unforgivables caused the Dark Lord's body to break down even faster.

"You did something to the serum," Voldemort spat out. "That was Bella! McNair's been dead for two weeks. I killed him myself."

"And yet you killed her didn't you?" Ryuu pointed out while ignoring the statement about the serum. "All we would have needed to do was wait another twenty minutes and we would have known which of you were telling the truth. That you killed her before she could change back only proves her words were true because when a body dies while under the influence of Polyjuice it retains the image of the one they'd transformed into."

"I am going to make you scream, Potter," Voldemort hissed venomously. "I'm going to keep you alive and make you suffer for a hundred years before I allow you to die. I'll force you to watch your entire family being tortured before I allow the dementors to suck out their souls, you will be forced to watch your girlfriend become a toy for my Death Eaters before I feed her to Fenfir Greyback, and you will watch thousands of mudbloods slowly bleed to death knowing they are suffering because you dared to destroy that which was mine."

"Do you even have any Death Eaters left, Tom?" Ryuu taunted as he ignored the threats. "How many have you personally killed now because you don't trust them? How are you going to torture or maim anyone given that casting even a single Unforgivable makes your body break down even faster? I can see you falling apart before my very eyes, Tom. And I must say you are one ugly son of an inbred witch."

"_Crucio!_" Voldemort screamed and Ryuu stepped to the side and allowed the curse to pass harmlessly by him as he tiled his head to one side and smirked at Voldemort.

"You missed me," Ryuu stated as he felt the six dementors closing in on their position. "Oh… and you brought toys for me to play with too. Did you know that I've personally destroyed over six hundred dementors to date? I've gotten so good at stripping their magic from them that it's become child's play for me to wipe them out twenty or thirty of them at a time. But they can wait a moment… right now I have to show you just who is in charge here."

With that, Ryuu pulled out the final fake horcrux and tossed it up into the air before he cast a third and final Fiendfyre on the replica. Voldemort went ballistic over seeing the 'horcrux' destroyed, firing cutting curses left and right as Ryuu once more played the illusion of the horcrux being destroyed.

"I'm the last horcrux you have left," Ryuu called out as he used the Elder Wand to shield himself while he took out his cherry wand and used it to send a few bludgeoning hexes at the Dark Lord. "Are you willing to risk destroying the only anchor that remains? And don't try to tell me that you can always create another one… you and I both know that you've split your soul far too many times and attempting to make yet another horcrux will destabilize your soul further and both you and the fragment would die a rather painful and spectacular death as you both implode."

"I will leave nothing you hold dear alive! I will kill them all!"

"You and what army?" Ryuu countered. "You've killed or maimed them all, Tom. In fact, you and I both know that Malfoy there is the last Death Eater alive that would have had any chance of carrying out your orders. Lestrange probably would have done anything for you as well but you killed her; unless you really did hide her away in your mansion. Who are you going to trust now that the last two members of your inner circle are as good as dead?"

"I am Lord Voldemort! I was born to rule this world! You and the rest of the scum will kneel at my feet! Witches and wizards will fall over themselves to serve me once I have brought you to your knees!"

"_Spiders have all been dealt with, boss,_" Lee announced before Ryuu could reply to the Dark Lord. "_Our troops have taken the mansion and cleared out everything inside; including a mess of dead bodies that were beyond recognition. That leaves only the viper himself and whatever is hiding in the hidden rooms._"

"Actually, you won't leave this graveyard alive," Ryuu replied softly as he put away the Elder Wand and pulled free one of his swords. "You see, Tom, you were right to doubt me. If you had stayed locked up inside your hidden room inside of the Riddle Manor I probably never would have been able to finish you off. Though, truth be told, you probably would have been dead before the end of the year anyway."

"I know exactly what went wrong with your rebirth; if you had used anyone's blood but mine you would have had a perfect body. Instead, you sought me out specifically. That was your second mistake… your first mistake was actually sending Barty Crouch Jr. to take the place of Alastor Moody. Do you know why that is, Tom? I'll tell you why; Moody swore an oath never to betray me and to never intentionally harm me or my familiars so the moment Crouch got close enough to me I instantly knew he was an imposter because magic doesn't lie."

"So we knew you were trying to rise again before your plan even got off its feet. We fed him lies all year long and milked him for information each time he returned from his meetings with you and he never even realized that the real Moody was in on the deal. Yet you made several more mistakes; you allowed me to live after that pathetic piece of trash lying at your feet murdered my familiar therefore waking my rage. But even before that, before I was even born, you made the mistake of betraying the trust of Helena Ravenclaw; first by turning the diadem into a horcrux and then placing that horcrux inside of Hogwarts. You also made the mistake of dismissing the legend of the diadem because the magic would not work for you because by the time you found it you'd already torn off two pieces of your soul."

"You also made the mistake of using items with a history of their own… really… the founder's legacies? Well documented legends that hundreds of people have sought through the years and you expected them to never be found? How arrogant of you. Did you really think no one would notice when those items slowly disappeared one by one? Where are your precious horcruxes now, Tom? You lost the diary because you trusted Malfoy, the necklace because you misjudged the bond between elf and master, the ring because Dumbledore knew enough of your past to figure it out, the diadem because you thought you were being clever, your pet snake because you believed him invincible, and the cup because once again you arrogantly assumed that no one would search the vaults of your trusted Death Eaters."

"_Crucio!_"

Ryuu sidestepped the curse again, absently noting that Voldemort's skin was drying out rapidly as huge chunks fell from his hands and face. He could tell that the underlying muscle tissue was also slowly disintegrating as well, as the red tissue shrank with each passing minute to reveal the yellow-white bone beneath it.

"Have I touched a nerve, Tom? Shall I tell you of the other mistakes you've made? How about the mistake you made the night you murdered my parents? When you sealed the verbal contract between yourself and my mother as she offered her life for mine and you accepted verbally before killing her. If not for your breach of contract you could have walked away that night unharmed. But you didn't, you tried to kill me and therefore brought the prophecy into play. Oh, and speaking of the prophecy, that was one of your biggest mistakes."

"That prophecy you stole from the Ministry of Magic? It was a lie; I wrote it myself. And you bought it; hook, line, and sinker. The real prophecy spoke of you marking me as your equal, a power you could not comprehend, and how the final battle would come down to a one on one duel between the two of us. Yet you acted upon the fake prophecy and brought about your own downfall; even now the last of your Death Eaters, all of the dark creatures you rounded up, and everything you'd been hoarding in Riddle Manor has been destroyed or taken into custody."

Ryuu had to dodge several curses as Voldemort opened fire on him once more. Those that he couldn't dodge he blocked and deflected with spells and summoned rocks. The moment Voldemort's attention was firmly on Ryuu; the teen silently summoned Malfoy out from under the Dark Lord's feet and banished him towards one of his many hidden allies so that he could be dealt with later. Once the Death Eater was out of sight, Ryuu slowly moved forward, closing the distance little by little between him and the failing dark lord; his wand flashing spell after spell as he defended against the barrage that the Dark Lord sent at him. As he worked his way closer, Ryuu couldn't help but notice that Voldemort's curses were growing weaker with each spell he cast.

"Dumbledore tried to convince me that the power you couldn't understand was love," Ryuu continued as he sent a few curses and hexes of his own, using his flute here and there in between the words of his speech to give the illusion that he wasn't really moving at all. "I know better though... love and hate are both easily understood by all souls. You lacked love over the course of your childhood and therefore you hated the world that abandoned you while at the same time hating the world that broke you. No… the true power you lack and that you considered worthless was nothing more than common sense. You were insane long before you split your soul that first time but your power of reasoning became skewed further and further with each fragment of severed from your soul."

His words must have touched a nerve because Voldemort screamed out again in fury and shot out a black spell that sought not Ryuu, but the dementors that were positioned in a circle around them. Ryuu had a bad feeling about the spell that grew even worse when black light shot up into the sky from six points (as if the spell had been channeled through the dementors). He was less than five feet away from the Dark Lord, his illusion firmly in place as he slipped behind the inhuman monster and lightly rested the tip of his sword against Voldemort's back before he dropped the illusion.

"Say hello to Pettigrew in hell for me when you get there, won't you, Tom?" Ryuu whispered as he slid the blade of his ward into the Dark lord's spine, severing the spinal cord but not actually killing him since the Dark Lord wasn't human enough to die from such a blow. Unable to control his legs, the Dark Lord had dropped onto his knees as Ryuu lifted his sword to deliver the killing blow only to freeze as he felt the freezing cold of hundreds of dementors descending down upon them from the heavens above; the black spell of Voldemort's had been a summoning spell that called the creatures from all over the country. Cursing, because he'd known the spell would be trouble, Ryuu swung his blade forward and decapitated the Dark Lord as he lifted his wand hand to the ring hanging from his neck and cried out, "_Izanami!_"

Death's Avatar appeared just as the dementors rushed towards Ryuu and the not quite dead Dark Lord. The sixteen year old could feel the oppressive weight of the dark magic pressing down on him as his worst memories began rising from the depths of his mind. Dropping down to his knees, he desperately fought to focus on his memories of his mother, father, and uncle, of the happy memories he had of his little brother and friends, and of the stolen moments he'd shared with Luna since the day she'd agreed to be his girlfriend. Pulling his heart and soul from those memories he combined it with the rage he'd felt since the moment he'd seen Malfoy and over the foul presence of the dementors. He then cast his patronus and felt a brief flash of triumph as the huge, silvery-gold form of Shogun burst out from his wand with a wave of love fueled rage.

"Destroy them all!" Ryuu cried out, ordering both his patronus and the Avatar of Death as he began drawing the wild magic in the air to him. Just a few feet in front of him the Dark Lord's head laughed and cackled; the small fragment of soul remaining attached to it unable to completely die. Ryuu ignored the cackling skull and instead reached up to reengage his comm. unit before he barked out an order, "No need to wait for an engraved invitation ladies and gentlemen! I can't hold them all back on my own… let's get those patronuses up and running!"

Voldemort screamed in frustration as more than forty patronuses burst forth on the heels of Ryuu's orders; the Dark Lord never having realized that Ryuu wasn't alone. A few more joined them over the next few minutes while flashes of Fiendfyre filled the night as those that could cast the costly demonic flames used them to destroy the dementors. As the night lit up with all of the positive emotions from the patronuses, Ryuu climbed back to his feet and began summoning phoenixes to carry out those that were currently unable to protect themselves from the dementors. With the wild phoenixes came Shinjin and as she lifted her voice in song Ryuu felt the draining pull of dark magic on his emotions lessen as he took heart in his familiar's presence. The wild phoenixes were quick to add their voices to Shinjin's song; the phoenix music filling the entire graveyard with an overwhelming sense of love and strength.

"You can't win, Potter!" Voldemort screamed as the Dark Lord's deformed skull rolled closer to where Ryuu stood pushing back the dementors with Fiendfyre. "The Black Summoning Spell will continue pulling every single dementor from this cursed world until the skies turn black with their cloaks! It's over! I've won! Once your soul has been sucked from your body I can merge with my final horcrux and I will use your body and your magic to rule the world for all eternity!"

"Only one problem with that, Tom," Ryuu shouted back as he flashed the Dark Skull a predatory grin. "I lied… I destroyed the last four of your horcruxes over the summer; including the one attached to my scar! All that remains of your pathetic soul is trapped in that misshapen skull and soon it too will be dead. Time and time again you've fallen for each and every one of my traps! I've been leading you around by your nonexistent nose from the moment you stole the fake prophecy!"

Voldemort could only scream in rage as Ryuu laughed hysterically while the golden aura of the spiritual soul dragon formed around Ryuu as he channeled both his magic and the ambient wild magic and allowed it to merge with his spiritual power. By that time, it was just Ryuu, Shinjin, Izanami, and Voldemort remaining in the graveyard with close to a thousand furious dementors and about thirty patronuses. Inside of the spectral dragon, Ryuu stopped laughing as he focused on the foul taint that represented the summoning spell that was calling more and more dementors into the area. He had to stop the spell before the number of dementors overloaded the wards and allowed them to escape into the night; which would be disastrous for all of Great Britain.

Focusing on what remained of Voldemort's soul; Ryuu began pulling the dark magic from the skull which in turn pulled the dark magic from each and every one of the living Death Eaters throughout the entire world, linked as they were through the Dark Mark, and the tainted summoning spell. Voldemort's scream of anger turned to one of pure agony as his magical core was striped from his soul and unknowingly echoed by close to fifteen hundred Death Eaters as their cores were striped of their magic as a result of the Dark Lord seeking to keep himself alive through his connection with their Dark Marks.

The more tainted magic Ryuu pulled from Riddle's inhuman skull the more magic he was forced to channel through his body until he began to scream as well; the human body ill-suited to channeling such vast amounts of power and energy. The pure magic burning through his blood even as he fought to maintain control in order to prevent the dark magic from escaping.

When the anchored core finally pulled free from the Dark Lord's final soul fragment, the black spell fizzled and burnt out and the night went silent as all of the screams stopped. The light of the patronuses illuminated the dark magic that hung in the air for a split second as Ryuu dropped back down onto his knees beside the now lifeless skull of Voldemort before the shimmering dragon surrounding Ryuu exploded outwards in the night.

The huge shockwave of pure magic, spiritual energy, and light destroyed every single thread of tainted magic inside of the graveyard and for a good thousand mile radius outside of it; drowning out the dark of night with a light far brighter than the sun. When the night once again claimed the world, the only evidence that a great (if somewhat anticlimactic) battle had taken place inside of the graveyard were the hundreds of black cloaks that fluttered limply in the wind, two piles of bone dust that had once been the Dark Lord's skull and body, and the unmoving body of a sixteen year old from which a single thread of smoke rose into the night.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Hmm, I'm running late and didn't even realize that it was the end of the week… Anyway, Voldemort's finally been dealt with and the next chapter will deal with the aftermath_…_ ~ Jenn  
><em>


	51. The Ending of an Era

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Chapter 50: The Ending of an Era<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu, Japan<br>January 1997 ~ June 1997_

Kakashi stepped through the portal and casually glanced around the familiar living room as he headed towards the sliding door that led into the hallway. He'd barely gone two steps when he nearly tripped over a charcoal gray kneazle with greenish-yellow eyes as said kneazle wove in and out of his feet. Huffing, Kakashi reached down and lifted Tenji up onto his shoulder in order to keep the magical cat from tangling up his feet. The fact that the kneazle immediately began purring contentedly allowed a large portion of the tension Kakashi had been feeling fade away; he knew the familiar wouldn't be so happy and content if his adopted nephew had still been unconscious and unresponsive.

A new spring entered the gray-haired wizard's step as he headed for the stairs that would take him up to the second floor and Ryuu's bedroom. As he took the stairs two at a time, Kakashi couldn't help but think back to everything that had happened over the past two and a half weeks.

The night Ryuu had faced the Dark Lord had been a terrible night filled with terror and dark magic for those who had been inside of the graveyard. Kakashi had watched the entire scene unfold from behind the statue of the knight that Ryuu had hung from on the night of Voldemort's rebirth. He'd wanted to praise and strangle the sixteen year old in turns as he'd watched the teen taunt and provoke the Dark Lord for close to an hour seemingly without an ounce of fear.

That Ryuu had been able to push Voldemort into a mindless rage while at the same time backing the inhuman wizard into a corner was nothing short of nerve wracking for all of those who'd been present that night. Of course, the fact that the Dark Lord was already obviously insane and desperate only worked in Ryuu's favor.

The problem had been Voldemort's final bid to destroy Ryuu that involved an obscure summoning spell that's sole purpose was to gather the dementors; something none of them had anticipated. Of the two hundred some witches and wizards present in the graveyard that night, less than half of them had been able to conjure a patronus under the onslaught of hundreds of the foul demons. All of them had felt a wave of burning shame when Ryuu's voice had cut through their fear induced stupor chiding them into getting their act together.

There they were… some of the world's strongest witches and wizards and they'd been called to task by a sixteen year old. A sixteen year old who had not only fought off the effects of the dementors while insanely outnumbered but managed to form his battle patronus (for lack of a better name for the destructive silver-gold owl) and had enough of his wits about him to drag about sixty of the surrounding adults out of their fear.

Ryuu had then had the foresight to call the phoenixes to start removing those who were unable to fight or protect themselves from the graveyard before pulling the rest of them out of there. Despite his being the dementors' immediate target the teen had been far more concerned with those witches and wizards that had come to provide back up for him. And Ryuu was basically the only visible target inside of the cemetery due to the illusions, wards, and Ryuu's own spiritual power hiding and drowning out the presence of the adults hidden nearby. That the teen had managed to avoid having his soul sucked out was a miracle given the fact that there had been over a thousand living dementors crammed into the graveyard at the time. That wasn't even counting the hundreds that had been destroyed by the Avatar of Death, Ryuu's Patronus, and Fiendfyre.

Then there was that shockwave of magic Ryuu had unleashed that destroyed all of the gathered dementors, the mutilated soul of the Dark Lord, and any dark magic within a thousand miles of the graveyard. The backlash of magic had been powerful enough to disrupt the mapping wards after it blew right through the protective wards that had been placed around the graveyard and destroyed all of the magical communication devices of those in the immediate area. If the magic had been anything but benign in nature, Kakashi had no doubt that the town of Little Hangleton and a good portion of Greater Hangleton would have been obliterated before the shockwave had dissipated. When his vision and hearing had returned, Kakashi couldn't believe how still and silent the graveyard had been after the battle.

For one brief moment, when he'd first caught sight of the smoke rising from Ryuu's unmoving form, Kakashi had feared the worst. His fears were mostly laid to rest the moment Shinjin fluttered down to land upon her wizard and sang a brief trill of pure hope and triumph before nuzzling the teen's face. His worry had returned threefold when the phoenix's cries had turned anxious when Ryuu didn't respond to her gentle nudges. Kakashi had wasted no time in making his way to Ryuu's side at that point and he'd grown fearful when he took in the blackened and burnt state of Ryuu's formerly gray uniform.

The fact that he could feel the heat radiating off of Ryuu as he knelt down beside the unconscious teen hadn't made him feel any better either. Kakashi had forced himself to check Ryuu's pulse, despite the near burning heat radiating from the teen and his own fears, and let out a sigh of pure relief when he felt the teen's pulse beating out strong and steady against his fingers.

Organizing the allied forces had taken close to a half an hour as more than half of them had been seriously affected by the presence of the dementors or driven into magical exhaustion through their efforts to help fight off said dementors. Of the seventy or so witches and wizards still able to function, Kakashi had tasked fifteen of them to start cleaning up the graveyard (this mainly involved collecting the dementor cloaks), another twenty were tasked with caring for those who were unable to function, and the rest were asked to start transporting the wounded, exhausted, or comatose out of the area. It was around this time that the reserve forces began arriving by portkey just outside of the cemetery. Among those arriving were the collective healers from among the allied nations who immediately spread out to take over care of those that needed it.

Healer Inoue had made a beeline for Kakashi and Ryuu, his wand out and flashing spells at the prostrate teen before he even reached their side. When he hosed down the teen with a spell (to cool him off), Kakashi had to jump back away from the sudden influx of steam while Shinjin burst out in a series of agitated cries as she rode the steam up off of her wizard before she settled down on Kakashi's shoulder (still complaining as she glared at the healer). If the situation hadn't been so grave, Kakashi might have laughed over the antics of the phoenix.

As it was he was far more concerned with Ryuu's condition to pay much mind to the irritated bird. His thoughts turning dark and grim as he listened to Inoue cataloging Ryuu's injuries (most of which were actually minor) and the state of his magical core (severely damaged and completely drained) over the comm. unit the healer wore. Two minutes later, Inoue portkeyed out of the graveyard with Ryuu and Shinjin while Kakashi had been asked to remain behind to see to the clean up and booking of any prisoners.

The discovery that not one single prisoner they had taken had survived the night had been the first clue that the night's activities had farther reaching consequences than they originally believed they would. The second clue was the scattered dementor cloaks that were found spread throughout a thousand mile radius from the dead center of the graveyard.

Over the next five hours, Kakashi would learn that every single marked Death Eater (incarcerated or not) had died shortly before Ryuu released the shockwave of power, any dark creature that had been within a thousand miles of the graveyard had either been purified or striped completely of its magic (including the werewolves Voldemort had locked up in the basement of Riddle Manor), and any magical device that had been within the same thousand miles had been affected by the backlash of magic. For years afterwards, any dark magic being brought within five hundred miles of the graveyard would immediately cease to function as the dark magic it contained would be destroyed by the lingering wild magic that clung to the area.

Kakashi hadn't heard the bad news until he returned to the school early the next morning to find Ryuu's family and closest friends sitting around his bed in tears. While Ryuu had lived through the night and his injuries had been easily healed; his magical core had been damaged beyond repair and Ryuu had been reduced to a squib with a magical index of fifteen. The sheer volume of magic he'd channeled the evening before had also burnt the blood, tears, venom, and oak splinters from his body; meaning he was no longer a living focus.

And as happy as everyone was that Ryuu had pulled through they knew it would be hard on the sixteen year old to function without his magic since magic had become such a large part of his life. They also had no idea how the loss of his magic (since as a level fifteen he wouldn't even have enough to use a wand) would affect the familiar bonds he had with Tenji and Shinjin; though the two familiars didn't seem overly affected at the moment.

Once Ryuu was stable, Takashi had him taken home even though he hadn't as of yet woken up. Takashi's argument was that it was better for him to wake up in his bedroom with his family close at hand than in the hospital ward at school; especially given the fact that he'd not be allowed to finish those classes that required active magic. That didn't stop the steady stream of visitors that stopped by on a daily basis to check on the condition of the unconscious teen. Visitors that often left small tokens of gratitude and get well gifts for the teen that had given up nearly everything to rid the world of Voldemort, all of his marked followers, numerous dark and dangerous creatures, and all but a couple dozen dementors (dementors that were currently being securely held behind the special wards Ryuu had designed).

While Ryuu's family was taking him home, the rest of the world was dealing with the aftershocks of Ryuu's triumph over Voldemort. In prisons around the world, guards were stumbling across dead prisoners whose left sleeves had been burnt away to reveal the blackened and charred Dark Mark that had marked them as Death Eaters; each and every one of them completely drained of their magic. In households, businesses, and government offices around the world, husbands, wives, parents, children, servants, coworkers, and employees were stumbling across similar scenes.

The total number of Death Eaters unveiled was staggering as the world had previously believed there to be no more than a hundred and fifty Death Eaters total, including those that had already perished during Voldemort's first rise. The truth was that there had been closer to eighteen hundred Death Eaters and Voldemort had killed around three hundred of those after he'd stolen the prophecy.

The highest concentration of Death Eaters had, of course, been found throughout England, Scotland, and Wales where Voldemort was most active both during his first rise and after his rebirth. The discovery of close to eight hundred dead Death Eaters throughout the British Isles had the English Ministry in complete disarray due to the number of high level employees that had died that night. Employees that had somehow previously escaped the purges that had happened in the wake of Umbridge's death and the discovery that Minister Ogden had been under the Imperius Curse. There could be no doubt that each and every one of those that died that night had been followers of the Dark Lord; there was no hiding the Dark Marks that had been burnt into their flesh.

The biggest shock though, had come to the staff at Hogwarts where close to twenty students had woken up their dorm mates when they began screaming and clutching at their left arms as the Dark Lord drew on their magic through the Dark Marks. Draco Malfoy, Pansy Parkinson, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Cormac McLaggen, Eddie Carmichael, Marietta Edgecombe, Michael Corner, Elizabeth Moon, Ernie Macmillan, and Theodore Nott were just a few of those that died that night; all of them sixth and seventh years from all four houses.

Dumbledore was, of course, furious that students had died at the castle during his tenancy as Headmaster and the aged wizard immediately blamed Ryuu for their deaths. Dumbledore told the remaining students that it was a terrible tragedy that so many young lives had been snuffed out by a single act of violence and attempted to label Ryuu as a rising dark wizard only for a good portion of all four houses to walk out on him; the students well remembered who had saved them from the worst of Umbridge's cruelty and it wasn't Albus Dumbledore.

Dumbledore's proclamations didn't have much support in the Wizengamot either, as Amelia Bones, Augusta Longbottom, and Tiberius Ogden had all been fully aware of what was happening at the time. In fact, close to a third of the forces that had been providing back up to Ryuu in the graveyard that night had been English aurors. That didn't stop Dumbledore from trying to sway people to his way of thinking; the man was nothing if not stubborn and persistent. Sadly, there were still a great number of people who respected Dumbledore for all of his accomplishments and because Ryuu was unavailable and completely out of sight during his recovery those people were easily swayed by Dumbledore's rhetoric.

Internationally, Dumbledore lost credence though as many of Ryuu's allies stood up for the teen. He was stripped of his title as Supreme Mugwump for trying to order the I.C.W. to arrest Ryuu for over eight hundred counts of murder (the number of dead Death Eaters found through the British Isles). He lost his title as Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot for trying to issue a warrant for the arrest of Ryuu Natsume the moment he set foot on English soil which included a warrant to confiscate the Potter Fortune. Dumbledore probably would have eventually brought most of the government around to his way of thinking in the end though, due to public support, if not for the fact that Ryuu had sacrificed his magic in order to rid the world of Voldemort for good.

Dumbledore lost the support of all but a few bitter purebloods the day that information was announced to the public; since in order for the teen to be a dark wizard he had to actually be a wizard. Dumbledore had been thoroughly shocked by that revelation as well, since he'd been one of the few that had been aware of Ryuu's incalculable index levels and his status as a living focus; two of the reasons he'd believed Ryuu could go dark (along with the horcrux that he didn't truly believe had been removed). The one hundred plus wizard actually faded from public view at that point though the purebloods that had supported him continued to call for Ryuu's arrest.

Kakashi was pulled out of his memories by the sound of Kenji squealing happily. Curious, Kakashi hurried up the last few stairs and silently trotted down the hallway to where Ryuu's bedroom door was sitting wide open. He stuck his head inside and felt a grin tugging at his lips as he watched Kenji tackle Ryuu who in turn would capture his brother and tickle him mercilessly which in turn made Kenji squeal in delight. The moment Ryuu released his little brother so he could catch his breath, the two year old would pounce again to start the cycle all over again. As he sat there watching the endearing scene, Kakashi felt hope that everything would be alright despite everything that had been lost.

"Are you going to lurk in the doorway all day, oji, or are you going to come in and say hello?" Ryuu asked without looking up as he pulled Kenji in for a hug as the two year old buried his hands in Ryuu's hair to keep from falling.

"I was just enjoying the view," Kakashi replied as he stepped into the room. "This is the happiest I've seen the little one since we brought you home."

"You should have been here earlier," Ryuu quipped in reply as he leaned forward and rubbed his nose on Kenji's making the younger boy giggle and push him away. "Kenji-kun somehow managed to not only catch Nyanko-sensei again but was riding him around the room. Nyanko fled once he finally got free and I haven't seen him since."

"I'll have to get you to share that memory with me when you're up to it," Kakashi stated as he walked up to the bed and sat down beside Ryuu. "Seeing Neko-chan playing pony should be worth a laugh or two. How long have you been up?"

"Since just before dawn. Tenji was playing cat and mouse with Shinjin's tail again and she took offense after the fifth time his claws snagged a feather. I didn't need to understand phoenix-speak to know she was cussing the troublesome kneazle out as she batted him about the head with her wings. The two of them trampled all over me more time than I could count at the time. I suspect the two of them staged the entire thing just to wake me up."

"Sounds like a busy morning between familiars, cats, and little brothers."

"Without doubt… though you forgot to add an emotional grandmother, overjoyed mother, relieved grandfather, and one over protective father to that list," Ryuu dryly added as he let go of Kenji as the two year old caught sight of Tenji sitting up on Kakashi's shoulder; the toddler's eyes lighting up at the sight of the kneazle.

"Neko! Neko!" Kenji cried happily. "Neko-nii!"

"Has your brother learned to say anything except cat and brother yet?" Kakashi asked bemusedly as Tenji leapt down from his shoulder and happily began playing tag with the two year old.

"Sure… he says no, up, bird, mom, dad, fish, and d-a-n-g-o," Ryuu replied, taking care to spell the last word out least he earn his parents' ire for getting Kenji on a dango kick before lunch. "Actually he says tons of other words too… though to tell you the truth I don't think okaasan ever forgave me for getting him to say cat instead of mom first."

The two of them shared a brief laugh as they both recalled Taki's expression when Kenji had said his first word. After a moment, Kakashi sobered up though and asked, "All joking aside, how are you feeling?"

"Tired and a little sore," Ryuu replied as he slumped back against his pillows while never taking his eyes off his little brother and his familiar. "The thing that bothers me the most is that no one will tell me what happened after I passed out. Even otousan changed the subject and left when I asked him and that's not like him."

"Has a healer been by to check on you since you woke up?" Kakashi inquired softly instead of giving Ryuu the information the teen was fishing for.

"Inoue-sama will be here sometime after lunch," Ryuu replied. "You're not going to answer my questions either, are you?"

"Not until I speak with your father," Kakashi agreed. "If, after I speak with him, he still hasn't answered your questions then, and only then, will I answer them instead. You and I both know that your father wouldn't withhold information from you unless he had a very good reason."

"Doesn't make it any less annoying," Ryuu huffed as he crossed his arms and frowned. "And it tells me that something went seriously wrong and my father thinks I will blame myself for whatever happened, whatever happened is going to affect me personally, or a combination of both."

"Let me see if I can track down your old man and find out what's going on," Kakashi promised as he reached out and ruffled Ryuu's messy hair. "I'm guessing he's just waiting to make certain that Inoue-senpai gives you a clean bill of health now that you are awake."

Ryuu's reply was cut off by Kenji as the two year old tackled his older brother carrying an armful of purring kneazle and Kakashi retreated while the sixteen year old was otherwise occupied. He suspected he knew exactly why Takashi was avoiding answering the teen's questions and he also knew that it would only make things worse in the long run. He found the younger man sitting out in the back garden nursing a cup of sake and watching the wild phoenixes playing in the trees and pond.

"You know the longer you try to avoid telling him the more he is going to resent you for keeping things from him," Kakashi announced in place of a greeting as he leaned against the rail and let his gaze wander over the playful phoenixes. "He is smart enough to know that something happened and that it will in some way affect him."

"Tell me something I don't know," Takashi muttered as he rolled the half full cup of rice wine between his hands. "I didn't want to say anything until Inoue-sama confirmed that there has been no change. I don't want to crush him needlessly after he's given so much of himself to the wizarding world."

"Okay, I can see the sense in not mentioning the current state of his magical core but why haven't you told him about the rest of what happened that night?"

"How do I tell my son that his actions ultimately brought about the deaths of close to fifteen hundred people world wide and countless more dark creatures?" Takashi asked in a pained voice before he downed the sake in his cup in a single gulp before filling the cup up from the bottle sitting beside him. "How am I supposed to tell him that Dumbledore was lobbying to put him on trial for the deaths of all those people? That Dumbledore was calling him dark because the senile old goat thinks Ryuu killed them all on purpose? That the only way to get the senile wizard to stop was to announce to the world that Ryuu had sacrificed his magic that night?"

"Dumbledore is a fool," Kakashi replied after a few minutes. "I doubt Ryuu-kun would even care what the old man is saying and would probably turn his lies against him after giving the matter some thought. As for the rest… I seriously doubt Ryuu will blame himself for the deaths of the marked Death Eaters since it was most likely their link to Voldemort that killed them and not anything that Ryuu personally did."

"Hnn…" Takashi grunted as he sipped at the sake in his cup.

"Does Taki-chan know you are sitting out here drinking before noon?" Kakashi asked after a few minutes.

"Hai… she's the one that gave me the bottle and shoved me out the door," Takashi admitted with a sigh as he glared down into the clear alcohol in his cup. "Just the same as she dumped Kenji on Ryuu's bed this morning before she headed out to the store to buy everything she needed to make Ryuu's his favorite dishes. Touko-san went with her to pick up the ingredients she would need to make enough taiyaki to feed an army. I think she's even planning on trying out a few new fillings as an extra special treat for Ryuu-kun. These past few weeks have been hard on both of them."

Nothing more was said for several longs minutes, both men well aware of just how hard the past two and a half weeks had been on everyone. Each day that passed with Ryuu remaining unconscious had weighed heavily on friends and family alike.

"You will talk to him today, won't you?" Kakashi inquired after a while as he finally let his gaze rest on the younger man. "Because you know his friends won't hesitate to tell him everything the moment he asks."

"I don't know if I can."

"If you don't, I will."

Instead of arguing, Takashi nodded his head in resignation and finished his fourth or fifth cup of sake. Kakashi sighed softly in relief since he'd half expected the man to argue with him. Then again, Kakashi knew that Takashi hated keeping things from Ryuu and never did so unless there was a damn good reason. It was at that point that Kakashi realized that Takashi probably had no idea how to break the news to Ryuu without making a mess of things. Not because the man couldn't relate to his son but because Takashi still struggled to understand the magical side of his son. It was the one aspect of Ryuu's life that Takashi couldn't quite share and though the man didn't begrudge his son his magic, Kakashi knew he did dislike feeling as if he was being boxed out of that part of Ryuu's life.

After a few more minutes, Kakashi retreated into the house to allow the younger man a bit of privacy; knowing there was really nothing more he could say. He wandered aimlessly through the house for a while only to find himself standing in front of the portal through which he'd entered earlier. He held a short mental debate with himself before he activated the portal and sent a patronus message through requesting Inoue to come sooner if he could; stating that Ryuu was feeling a bit antsy being confined to his bed. A slight exaggeration of the truth but Kakashi felt it would be worth it if it meant that Ryuu got his answers sooner rather than later.

Message sent; Kakashi headed back upstairs to keep an eye on the two brothers to insure that the younger boy didn't get into trouble and the older one didn't overexert himself so soon after waking. Kakashi found both boys sound asleep curled up together with Tenji sleeping on Ryuu's side and Shinjin nested in the pillow above Kenji's head, the phoenix gently preening Ryuu's hair as she hummed happily. He was still standing there watching the two siblings a half an hour later when Inoue arrived as requested.

"They look so peaceful I almost hate to disturb them," Inoue murmured as he paused beside Kakashi to take in the sleeping quartet.

"It's been a busy morning for the two boys from what I could gather when I arrived about two or three hours ago," Kakashi replied. "When I spoke to Ryuu-kun earlier he'd mentioned feeling tired and sore but I don't think that would be all that unusual given what happened that night."

"And how did he take the news about his core?"

"He hasn't been told yet," Kakashi revealed with a sigh. "Takashi would prefer you check one last time to see if his waking made any difference and I don't think he knows how to tell his son."

"He's going to find out eventually," Inoue pointed out as he frowned.

"If Takashi is still unable or unwilling to do so, I will break the news to Ryuu myself," Kakashi promised as the two of them moved into the room together.

Inoue didn't reply as he silently began casting diagnostic spells over the sleeping teen, checking on his current physical health before scanning the teen's magical core. When he reluctantly cast the indexing spell, both wizards sagged in defeat to see that it still registered as a fifteen; Ryuu was officially a squib. On a whim, Kakashi cast the bond detection spell and a single thread of bright platinum-white shimmered into existence before splitting off into three separate threads that connected Ryuu two both of the creatures sleeping beside and on top of him and the third one snaking off to wherever Nyanko-sensei was currently hiding.

It was a relief that the three bonds hadn't suffered from Ryuu's loss of magic and in fact seemed even stronger than they had before the night Ryuu called Voldemort out. Almost as if Ryuu's loss had bound them tighter together in order to protect Ryuu from that same loss. Kakashi then stepped forward and dropped his hand down onto Ryuu's shoulder to wake the teen so that Inoue could finish his exam. It took a few minutes for him to wake up and as he shifted there were three muttered complaints of protest from Kenji, Shinjin, and Tenji. Ryuu paused and blinked down at his brother who was clinging to his shirt before he chuckled softly before he shifted Tenji into the two year old's hands so he could sit up.

"Inoue-sama? Did I miss lunch?"

"No, I'm early," Inoue replied warmly. "How are you feeling? Are you in any pain?"

"Still just a little tired and sore; as if I'd spent all morning in the dojo training without stretching out first."

"Any lightheadedness or headaches?"

"No…"

Inoue nodded and cast a couple of more scans before declaring, "You should feel better after a couple of days of rest; your body is just suffering from severe exhaustion." He hesitated a moment at that point as he glanced over at Kakashi who was sitting on the edge of the bed watching the doorway. "Try not to push yourself in the mean time."

"Hai, Inoue-sama," Ryuu softly replied as he watched Inoue pack up his things. After the healer left, Ryuu and Kakashi sat there in silence for a long while before the teen tentatively broke the stillness. "What aren't you telling me?"

"What do you remember from that night?" Kakashi asked instead of immediately replying.

"I played a few head games with Voldemort, he killed Lestrange, he tried to kill me a couple of times, his body began breaking apart each time he cast a spell, and cutting off his head didn't actually kill him," Ryuu stated as he lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "The last thing he did was summon a boat load of dementors and I called Death's Avatar and my patronus to fight them off. The only way to stop the summoning spell was to pull the dark magic from the spell but to do that I had to pull Voldemort's core from him first since he was still linked to the spell. I don't remember anything after that."

"Do you recall anything weird happening when you were pulling the magic from Voldemort?"

"Only that it seemed as if he had an endless supply where as before he'd been practically drained."

"That would be because you didn't just pull Voldemort's magic; you striped the magic from every single marked Death Eater," Kakashi revealed as he glanced down at his hands while he waited for Ryuu digest that information.

"I squibbed all of the Death Eaters?"

"Iie… the process striped them of their lives in addition to removing their cores."

"O… kay… that was unexpected," Ryuu whispered a little shakily as he stared at the older wizard with wide eyes. "Do you… do you think it had something to do with the vow I made when I confronted Draco Malfoy at the end of my fourth year? When I swore I'd destroy every single marked follower of Voldemort?"

"Iie, I think it had something to do with the Dark Mark itself; the way it linked each Death Eater to Voldemort," Kakashi countered without hesitation (he did not want Ryuu blaming himself for their deaths).

"How many?"

"How many what?"

"Oji…" Ryuu growled as he reached up with both hands and began massaging his temples.

"All of them… and just leave it at that for now," Kakashi replied softly. "There's no use dwelling on their deaths because there was nothing you could have done to prevent what happened. The same thing applies to the werewolves, dementors, and other dark creatures that he had gathered."

"What do you mean?" Ryuu demanded tightly as he stilled.

"Do you remember calling forth the spectral dragon?"

"Vaguely…"

"Do you remember how much magic you were channeling at the time?"

"Oji…?" Ryuu growled half in frustration and half in confusion as he sat up just enough to glare at his uncle because he couldn't see where all of the questions were leading.

"The shockwave of magic you unleashed when you lost control of the magic you were channeling destroyed every trace of dark magic for a good thousand miles, no matter what the origin," Kakashi softly explained as he turned to fix Ryuu with his mismatched eyes. "It even burnt through and overpowered all of your wards."

"Did… did I hurt anyone…?"

"None of those on our side were harmed by the backlash… except you."

"What…?"

"The human body is not meant to channel that much magic."

"Oji…?" Ryuu asked again, his voice now trembling with uncertainty.

"I'm sorry, kiddo," Kakashi murmured. "Your core was fractured… the amount of magic you channeled that night burnt your core beyond repair."

"What are you saying, oji?"

"I'm trying to tell you that you've basically lost your magic," Kakashi stated in a strained voice that as just barely above a whisper. "You've just enough magic to maintain your familiar bonds but you will never have enough magic to use a wand again. The sheer volume of wild magic you channeled even burnt away the basilisk blood and venom along with the phoenix tears and oak splinters in your blood stream."

"Are… are you certain?"

"Hai… your index dropped to fifteen and has not changed once since that night."

"Oh…"

"You know that isn't going to change how any of your friends or family feel about you, right? It doesn't change the fact that we still care for you and about you."

"I know," Ryuu replied in a tired voice that was almost completely devoid of emotion.

"Ryuu-kun…"

"I'm… I'm going to… nap for a while," Ryuu stated as he cut Kakashi off.

Kakashi sighed softly as he watched Ryuu basically shut him out, his heart hurting for the sixteen year old who was more like a son to him. He wished there had been a better way to let Ryuu know about the repercussions of that night but putting it off would have only made it worse in the long run. The forty-six year old wizard ran a hand wearily over his face as he hesitantly retreated from the room to allow the teen time to come to terms with the revelation that he'd basically been turned into a squib overnight.

* * *

><p>Ryuu withdrew into himself over the next couple of days, his thoughts lingering on everything he'd hoped to accomplish not only this year in finishing his magical schooling but in the future. It wasn't so much the loss of magic that was killing him but the promises he could no longer keep because he didn't have the magic to carry them out. He was immensely thankful that he still had enough magic left to maintain the familiar bonds because he didn't think he'd have been able to cope without Shinjin and Tenji.<p>

Nyanko-sensei had been a bit crass when he came into the room at one point drunk as a skunk and singing Ryuu's praises for purging the 'cursed' magic from his body. Ryuu knew the youkai was just trying to cheer him up by letting him know he still cared for him but Ryuu had not really appreciated the delivery. Nyanko hadn't been very appreciative of the fist that sent him flying across the room either.

His mood took an abrupt turn for the better when Luna arrived home for the weekend on Friday. She'd flown into his room and scolded him for sleeping for nearly three weeks before she'd immediately curled up beside him and told him she was glad he came back to her as promised. He'd tried once (and only once) to break up with her so she could find a 'nice wizard' to settle down with and he was abruptly reminded why it wasn't a good idea to upset a witch; particularly if her name was Luna Lovegood.

His little moon could be quite vicious when she wanted to be and for a little slip of a girl she packed a mean right hook; and that wasn't even taking into consideration her repertoire of spells at her disposal. She'd then guilt tripped him by asking him if he resented her for still having all of her magic and Ryuu finally realized how stupid he had been for doubting that Luna loved him; magic or no magic. He spent the rest of that weekend making up to Luna for his moment of idiocy (her words, not his). Luna's ready acceptance helped pave the way for Ryuu to accept the rest of his friends with little to no fuss, though he tended to get depressed when any of them performed magic around him.

He didn't begrudge them their ability, he just hated the reminder of what he'd lost and the number of people he was letting down because he could no longer keep his promises to them. When his friends left for school on Sunday night, Ryuu put on a brave face even though he felt as if his heart was being torn in two because he would never again follow them through that door. Oh he could, if he wanted to, follow them to school but what was the point of surrounding himself with constant reminders of all that he had lost.

That night, Ryuu emptied everything out of his magical trunk, cleaned the trunk out as best he could by hand, and then slowly began packing away everything magical he owned; starting with his books. There were some things he probably still could have used but it was too soon for Ryuu to appreciate such things and so they were packed up as well. It was approaching midnight by the time Ryuu finished packing up everything except for a small handful of items he couldn't bring himself to touch; his original two wands, all three Deathly Hallows, and the three founder's artifacts.

Sighing, Ryuu reached out and picked up Slytherin's locket, letting his fingers trail over the emeralds that made up the 'S' that was on the surface. There was no actual magic in the locket, aside from the charms that kept it from being damaged or growing tarnished with age, and aside from the fact that it had once belonged to one of the Hogwarts' founders it wasn't really anything special. A mere trinket that Slytherin had given his wife or daughter and that had been passed down through their family for close to a thousand years before Voldemort's mother had sold it just before she died giving birth to her son. Ryuu sighed a second time and set the locket off to one side so he could mail it to Professor Flitwick; as a founder's artifact Hogwarts had first claim since there were no longer any living descendants of Salazar Slytherin alive now that Tom Marvolo Riddle had died.

He picked up Hufflepuff's cup next, rolling the two handled goblet between his hands as he watched the light reflecting off the badger that had been engraved on the one side. He knew from asking the diadem that the cup retained the ability to purify any liquid that was poured inside of it, from wine and water to potions and pumpkin juice. It neutralized poisons, removed bacteria and germs, and cleared out any toxins. Helga Hufflepuff had reportedly used it exclusively when treating injured students while she lived at Hogwarts at a time when medical care was severely lacking in both the magical and muggle worlds.

Many a muggleborn during that era had mistakenly believed the finely wrought cup to be the Holy Grail but it wasn't; it was just a well designed tool that removed impurities from whatever was placed inside of it which in turn helped clear the impurities from the bodies of those who drank from the cup. Ryuu regretfully set the cup aside with the locket, he originally planned to study the enchantments on the cup so that they could be recreated and replicas could be sent to magical hospitals world wide but he would not be able to do so now; so he would send it to Flitwick as well.

"What are you still doing awake, son?" Takashi asked as walked into Ryuu's room carrying a fussy Kenji (the toddler currently teething again).

"Nii!" Kenji whined pitifully as he stretched out for his brother the moment Ryuu looked up from his desk.

"I was just packing up… putting away those things that… well I figured I could save them for… for when Kenji was old enough… to… you know," Ryuu murmured self-consciously as he absently fiddled with the chain of the locket.

Takashi moved further into the room and passed the squirming Kenji to Ryuu as he took in the packed trunk, lack of magical devices scattered about the room, and the items still sitting on Ryuu's desk.

"You intend to cut magic completely out of your life?" Takashi asked softly.

"That would be impossible," Ryuu countered with a slight undertone of bitterness. "Both of my familiars are magical creatures, my brother is a wizard, and my girlfriend is a witch. We have a backyard full of phoenixes that are for some reason content to hang around. It just hurts right now to be surrounded by all of the things I'll never use again."

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry," Takashi murmured as he dropped a hand onto Ryuu's shoulder. "I know there were times I resented magic for all of the pain it put you through but I never would have wished for your magic to be stripped from you."

"I don't mind not having magic," Ryuu confessed. "There were times when I desperately wished magic didn't even exist. But I hate not being able to keep the promises I made. I hate the fact that I have all these unfinished projects and new ideas floating about in my head knowing that they will never be finished or in some cases never see the light because I don't have the magic needed to create them. I hate feeling useless. And while I know I can make something of myself on the non magical side; it's not exactly what I wanted. I mean, sure, I planned on getting a degree or two from a university but I had thought it would just be a way to compliment or enhance my magical education."

Ryuu paused and glanced up at Takashi with tormented emerald eyes, "You know Luna and I were talking of traveling the world when she finished school? She wants to discover and document never before seen creatures and I was considering becoming a healer… learning different types of healing magics from around the world to add to those that I already know. And maybe teach what I learned to others…"

"Kenji, no!" Takashi interrupted in a near shout suddenly as his attention was drawn to Kenji as the two year old reached out towards the three wands that were sitting on Ryuu's desk.

Ryuu jumped at his father's unexpected cry and dropped his attention to the two year old on his lap as Kenji closed one hand around Ryuu's holly wand and continued reaching for the other two wands. Ryuu reached out and snagged the two more powerful wands out of his brother's reach as a shower of red and gold sparks shot out of the holly wand and hit Ryuu in the face. Ryuu had only a split second in which to yelp in surprise before he was forced into his animagus form and then promptly flatted by his brother as the two of them fell backwards off the chair.

"Ryuu! Kenji!" Takashi cried as he dashed forward and plucked the wand from Kenji's hand as he lifted the two year old off of Ryuu who was chittering in irritation in his red panda form.

"Neko-nii! Neko-nii!" Kenji happily squealed as he stretched out his hands towards his decidedly furry brother; the toddler not in the least bit hurt or frightened by what had happened.

"Kuso," Takashi cursed as he stared down at Ryuu who was now standing up on his hind legs staring up at his brother with his arms crossed and his tail twitching in agitation. "Are you alright, Ryuu-kun?"

_Hai, tousan,_ Ryuu signed as he lifted his forelegs and ran his paws over his face. _A little bruised but otherwise alright._

"What exactly happened?"

_My holly wand reacted to Kenji's magic and he must have been missing Dragon because when the magic hit me it forced the transformation. I guess I can at least be thankful that he didn't force me into a form I'm unfamiliar with,_ Ryuu replied before he picked up his tail and absently groomed it with his paws. After a moment he let go and added; _I feel kind of weird though… I never thought I'd be able to transform again. _

"Play! Want play nii!" Kenji demanded

"Do you want me to get Kakashi so he can change you back?" Takashi asked hesitantly; knowing the fact that he needed help returning to his human form might depress Ryuu even more.

_I suppose…_ Ryuu signed after a moment. _I can keep an eye on Kenji in the mean time. _

"Alright," Takashi agreed as he set Kenji down on the floor, the toddler immediately heading straight for Ryuu who playfully danced back out of reach making the two year old giggle happily. "I'll be back in a bit."

Ryuu waved to let his father know he heard him before he returned to the game of tag he'd started with his brother. He spent about a half an hour playing with his brother, wearing the two year old out, before the two of them climbed up into Ryuu's bed and curled up under the covers. Ryuu sighed softly before running his cat like tongue over Kenji's cheek, making the two year old giggle as he drifted off to sleep.

_I'm going to miss this,_ Ryuu thought to himself as he allowed Kenji to cuddle him like a stuffed animal. Playing with Kenji in his animagus form had been one of the things Ryuu had really loved sharing with his brother. He loved hearing Kenji giggle and squeal as they chased each other and when he tickled the boy with his tail and paws.

Ryuu dozed fitfully beside his brother for a bit until he picked up the sound of footsteps and soft voices stopping just outside of his room. Flicking his ears, he absently listened to the conversation as he slowly drifted back to sleep only to snap completely awake when what he was hearing registered in his mind.

"I'm telling you, it's impossible," Hatake repeated. "There is no way Kenji transformed Ryuu into his animagus form with sparks from a wand. No bout of accidental magic can force someone into their animagus form; it can transfigure them into random animals, yes, but not an animagus form."

"How else can you explain Ryuu ending up as a red panda?" Takashi asked in frustration.

"I don't know. What I do know is that there is only one very specific spell that can force someone into their animagus form and you saw what came out of the wand when I performed _Prior Incantato_ on the wand; it was just a bunch of sparks. If Kenji had forced the transformation it would have shown a ghostly image of a red panda."

Ryuu stopped listening at that point as he squirmed out of his brother's arms and made his way to his desk where the Ravenclaw diadem was sitting. He reached out to grab the diadem only to hesitate at the last second; suddenly uncertain he wanted to know the answer to the question that Hatake had unknowingly raised in his mind. After a moment he decided that he needed to know one way or the other and he reached out and put a paw on the diadem as he asked the question in his mind again. The answer left him stunned for a moment before he asked it how it was possible and the new answer had him sneezing several times in a row as he laughed in his animagus form.

Feeling far better than he had since the day he'd woken up and been informed that his magical index had dropped to fifteen, Ryuu grabbed the diadem with his mouth and dashed towards the door. His sudden appearance startled both his father and his uncle as he skidded to a stop before climbing up to sit on his uncle's shoulder. He then promptly settled the diadem on his uncle's head before he launched himself into his father's arms and started sneezing again as he laughed over the expression of stunned shock that appeared on Hatake's face when the diadem gave him the same information it had given Ryuu.

"How? How did we miss that?" Hatake asked as he pulled the crown from his head and stared at the still laughing Ryuu.

In reply, Ryuu jumped from his father's arms and transformed back into his human form before he hit the ground. He laughed a bit at his father's shocked expression before he answered his uncle's question, "Do you remember when I told you that the index spell was flawed because it only measured up to a set point? That it is unable of calculating numbers that fall above ninety-nine? My guess is that my index is actually one hundred fifteen and not fifteen but because the spell is so limited there was no way to know that."

"All I lost was the magical compounds in my bloodstream because I channeled too much magic; the same as a wand core can be burnt out of you force it to channel large amounts of magic continuously without stopping. Don't forget, I'd absorbed quite a bit of foreign magic each time I purged one of Riddle's horcruxes; so I had that magic in addition to my own magic. I probably would have realized it sooner if I had not been so depressed about the mere thought that I'd lost most of my magic."

"Are you saying you didn't lose your magic?" Takashi asked as he glanced from Ryuu to Hatake and back.

Ryuu grinned as he twirled his cherry wand in his hand, both it and the Elder Wand had stayed with Ryuu when he'd accidentally transformed himself through the shock of getting hit in the face with the sparks from his holly wand, before he conjured a wave of ice crystals. The teen then transfigured Hatake's clothes so that he was wearing the Jounin uniform that the Hatake Kakashi in the Naruto manga wore; including the crooked hitai-ate that covered the man's left eye. The forty-six year old squawked indignantly as Ryuu changed back into a red panda and dashed off down the stairs to avoid the older wizard's ire as Hatake gave chase.

"Who'd have thought," Takashi mused with a half grin as he stared off after his son. Shaking his head as he felt a great weight lifted from his heart, Takashi slipped into Ryuu's room to check on his youngest son; who slept on completely unaware of the new life he'd give his older brother through a fluke of fate. Leaning down to brush a kiss across his sleeping son's brow, Takashi whispered, "Good job, Kenji."

Before he crawled back into bed a short while later, Ryuu used a spell to unpack his things, another spell cleaned out his trunk better, yet another spell to pack his school things into the trunk, and a final spell was used to return all of his extra books and other belongings back to their rightful place. He marveled in the feel of his magic singing through his cherry wand as he cast each spell, reveling in the feeling of the magic being pulled from his core (that though fractured had not completely shattered as first believed). The last thing he'd done was slip his holly wand into its holster and set it up in his closet; he planned to give the wand to his brother when his brother started school since the wand apparently worked better for Kenji than it ever had for Ryuu. Once in bed, Ryuu pulled his brother close, planted a kiss on top of his messy hair, and thanked him for waking him up.

At eight thirty the next morning, Ryuu slipped unnoticed into the cafeteria in his animagus form. He sneezed once in laughter as Hatake barreled into the room a minute later; the older wizard once more dressed as his manga namesake. Ryuu had locked the transfiguration with a well placed rune while the older man slept (Takashi offering the wizard use of one of the guest rooms the night before).

"Where is he!?" Hatake growled as he shoved the headband out of his eyes to reveal that Ryuu had also transfigured the older wizard a single Sharingan.

"Might I ask who you are looking for?" Yamamoto called from his seat at the staff table.

"Natsume-kun! I know he's in here somewhere!" Hatake replied as he pulled his wand from his pocket only for it to disappear in a puff of smoke as it was replaced with an orange book.

Those students familiar with the Naruto manga had started snickering the moment Hatake entered the room, most of them recognizing his new appearance. When the book appeared those snickers turned into blatant laughter as Hatake stared at the book in his hands in shock. Ryuu in the mean time had made his way up to the staff table unseen, everyone's attention firmly on Hatake as the older man made a spectacle of himself. Working from one end of the staff table to the other, Ryuu set about transfiguring each of the instructors into other characters from the popular comic using specially created rune schemes.

Poor Mori Youta found himself in green spandex and bushy brows in a near exact replica of Maito Gai while Kimura ended up looking quite a bit like Umino Iruka. On the other hand Healer Inoue found himself sporting the intimidating visage of Morino Ibiki and Satoshi ended up as Nara Shikamaru. By the time Ryuu transfigured Yamamoto into a replica of the Sandaime Hokage, the entire hall was busting up laughing as they finally caught site of the changed staff members.

Once he'd finished with the staff members, who were just now realizing what had happened, Ryuu dashed out from under the staff table and let go of his animagus transformation to reveal that he'd transfigured his own clothes into an orange jumpsuit, colored his messy hair yellow, and his eyes a bright blue. As he was, he was a dead ringer for Uzumaki Naruto and he beamed a wide grin at everyone before he broke the rune scheme to end the transfiguration and bowed to the cheering students. He yelped when he felt Hatake grab hold of the back of his shirt before he turned back into his animagus form and climbed up Hatake's arm, over his head, and down his back before dashing back out of the cafeteria; the gray haired wizard-shinobi hot on his heels.

Ryuu's prank against the entire staff lasted for the rest of the day and was the talk of the school for the entire week. In fact, everyone was so caught up in talking about the prank that most people forgot that Ryuu had formally been declared a squib after what had happened in the graveyard; which is exactly why Ryuu had pulled the prank in the first place. He'd been planning to use that one when he finished his N.E.W.T.s but figured it would be to his advantage to use it as a distraction instead. Thankfully, the staff didn't really mind spending the day as adult characters from the manga series. In fact, several of them were quite impressed that Ryuu had not only managed to catch most of them off guard but had made the transfiguration unbreakable by normal means.

Ryuu spent the rest of that day visiting each of his many instructors and gathering a list of assignments he'd missed while he'd been unconscious and making copies of notes from various classmates so he could catch back up with the rest of the students. He also spent an hour in the Infirmary with Hatake, Kimura, Inoue, and Yamamoto discussing his physical health, the status of his magical core, and the revelation that his index was not as low as they'd originally feared it was. It was an informative conversation and it also revealed that two of the secrets that Hatake once held for Ryuu were no longer valid; those being the one that had hidden his status as a living focus and the one over his incalculable index.

Ryuu then asked his uncle to keep a new secret for him; he wanted the fact that he'd not been 'squibbed' to be a secret. When asked why, Ryuu replied that he was well aware that Dumbledore had been trying to paint him as going dark (Takashi had subscriptions to various wizarding publications from around the world and Ryuu had read a few of the back issues after he'd woken up). If the old man were to learn he'd not lost as much magic as he thought he had then he'd once again fan the flames of the purebloods into seeking his blood.

When Yamamoto pointed out the fact that the entire school already knew, Ryuu said it was irrelevant because they didn't actually see Ryuu doing any magic; only playing with runes except for his animagus transformation which could theoretically be explained away as Hatake hexing him in return for pranking him with the runes. Then he was asked how he planned to explain away attending classes and Ryuu replied that he could do his practical work with Kimura-sensei (if he was willing) and just do theory in class and say he wanted the theoretical N.E.W.T.s so he could teach theory since he couldn't do anything else. When the time came for the actual tests, the examiners could be told the secret. Once he proved he had the entire thing thought through (he'd been thinking about it since he'd woken up that morning) Hatake and Kimura both agreed to the plan and Yamamoto cast the spell.

Classes from that point forward were spent half listening to lectures on theory and half reading through the book or working on essays. When asked to display proper wand movements for spells, Ryuu used a 'blank' training wand which reinforced the idea that Ryuu no longer had any active magic. The extra time to study during classes actually helped Ryuu get caught up with the three weeks of work he'd missed fairly quickly and his morning sessions with Kimura were very productive as they split the time into spell practice and dueling. The time he once spent learning Battle Magic with Ashikaga-shishou was now spent on physical conditioning, sword fighting, and all of the other skills Ryuu would need as an officer that he'd neglected earlier due to the fact that he'd had a homicidal maniac out for his blood.

His ju jitsu lessons, Potions, Herbology, and Care of Magical Creatures were the only classes that proceeded as normal for Ryuu as they were the only classes where wanded magic was not required. That small bit of normalcy helped keep Ryuu from getting frustrated over some of the pitying looks he received from those students who were under the impression he was a squib. It also helped that his friends knew the truth and treated him normally; which they would have done regardless of whether or not he'd actually lost his magic. At least there was no blatant prejudice directed Ryuu's way in the academy as there would have been at Hogwarts if Ryuu had been attending the Scottish school this year.

At least the rest of the year passed fairly quickly and before Ryuu knew it he was sitting for his N.E.W.T.s. This year he had far fewer tests to take than he had the previous year; only six N.E.W.T.s total in Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology, Potions, Care of Magical Creatures, and Muggle Studies (though he'd never officially taken the class). He probably could have taken the Muggle Studies N.E.W.T. at the end of his fifth year but at the time he'd already been hard pressed to take the sixteen tests he'd been scheduled to take. One week after sitting for his final N.E.W.T., Ryuu was once again facing the examiners; this time taking the tests in order to receive his mastery certificates in Defense, Dueling, Battle Magic, Warding, Enchantment, and Healing.

These certificates were a bit more formal than the ones he had previously been given at the end of his summer sessions and actually conveyed that he had obtained mastery in those subjects while the summer certificates basically meant he'd completed the courses to his instructors' satisfaction. The exception being his master certificates in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and his titles earned through the Master's Music course.

Aside from sitting for his numerous exams, Ryuu was also promoted to special colonel by Ashikaga for the successful completion of his officer's classes, his mastery over Battle Magics, and after his excellent display of tactics when facing Voldemort in the graveyard. Ryuu had after all been the one to plan that entire scenario though he hadn't anticipated quite so many dementors he'd used his head and not only brought the panicking allied forces out of their dementor induced fear but also evacuated those unable to defend themselves while continuing to fight. At two months shy of sixteen, Ryuu had become the youngest wizard associated with the Samurai no Mahoujutsu to hold the rank of colonel (though he was only enlisted as a reserve officer as per the contract he'd signed early in his fifth year).

When it was over Ryuu was immensely glad to be finished with what he silently thought of as his worst year yet, though it was filled with far fewer near death experiences than his previous years.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _And that is technically a wrap folks… the final chapter and epilogue will be up later in the week and should wrap up all of the loose ends. I'd like to thank everyone who has stuck with me throughout the entire posting of this story and most especially everyone who has left me a review. ~ Jenn  
><em>


	52. Epilogue: The Future Forever Waits

**Disclaimer:** _All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Yujincho universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yuki Midorikawa and Hakusensha (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites._

**AN:** _This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance._

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><p><span>Epilogue: The Future Forever Waits on the Horizon<span>

_Takashima Town, Shiga, Japan  
>June 1997 ~ Eternity<em>

Ryuu watched as the last group of first time summer students were ushered into the dojo so they could be tested and placed in the appropriate class levels. It felt distinctively strange to be on this side of the procedure when it was only seven years to the day when he was one of those being ushered into the dojo in order to have his skills assessed. Ignoring the butterflies that were filling his stomach, Ryuu introduced himself and instructed the five eleven year olds to show him their stances as he walked amongst them and corrected their footing as needed.

Next he had them run through a basic set of katas, making note of which ones seemed to know what they were doing and those that were nervous and hesitant. When one of the boys began playing around a bit, Ryuu automatically snaked his hand out to lightly backhand the boy across the stomach; a habit that he'd picked up from his honorary uncle. Twenty minutes later, after watching each student spar one on one with one of the third year's he'd recruited to help him, Ryuu dismissed the final five first session students as he wrote down his recommendations for each of them.

Once he was alone, Ryuu pulled out his cherry wand and used a couple of quick spells to straighten up the dojo before he whistled for his two familiars to join him; the kneazle and phoenix having watched over him from their perches on top of the equipment cabinets during the course of the evening. As he locked up the dojo, he was joined by Satoshi and Hatake, both of whom been holding similar assessments in the other dojos and the three of them headed down to the cafeteria together. When they reached the cafeteria, Ryuu broke away from the two adults and joined Luna at the student tables while Satoshi and Hatake took their seats up at the staff table.

He'd barely settled into his seat when Luna's hand sought out his as she leaned into his side and he flashed her a smile. He then glanced around and nodded in greeting to the rest of his friends that were attending the summer session with him before letting his gaze sweep out over the rest of the student body. He was feeling a bit odd again as this would be the first time since his second summer that he wasn't starting his summer on a rigid potions regime due to his latest near death experience. Even as that thought ran through his mind, Ryuu shook his head and snorted as he reached out to pour a cup of tea for himself and for Luna. The rest of the night seemed to pass quickly and the next thing he knew, Ryuu was crawling into bed in the dorm room he shared with Neville.

Ryuu was up early the next morning, feeling a little nervous as this would be his first time teaching the morning introductory ju jitsu lessons. Sure, he'd helped Hatake and Satoshi both the previous summer and during the last year but he'd never taught the entire class by himself before. The knowledge that Hatake had turned time just so he could observe Ryuu teaching that first class didn't help because Ryuu was worried he'd disappoint his uncle. To his relief he managed to get through the class without any problems and even lost his nervousness after the first twenty minutes as he focused entirely on the eleven and twelve year olds that made up the class. By the time he dismissed the children an hour and a half later, Ryuu felt far more confident about teaching in general. The proud grin Hatake gave him once the younger kids were gone was just icing on the cake.

After a quick shower, Ryuu used the portal to go home and change before he headed to the local community college to attend the math and history class he'd signed up for this summer (Tuesdays and Thursdays he had language arts and biology). He'd decided to attend the local college in order to pick up the basic credits he'd need in math, science, language, history, and art before transferring to medical school. He would have preferred to go straight into medical school but they had been leery of accepting a sixteen year old into the medical program despite the fact that he could be considered a genius (the board more concerned with his level of maturity as opposed to his intelligence). As it was, if he could finish his undergraduate courses by the time he was eighteen, his application to med school would be accepted the fall after his eighteenth birthday (if not he'd start the fall after his nineteenth birthday).

He returned home by one, ate a late lunch, spent two hours working on his assignments for the day, and another hour playing with his brother before heading back to the Academy at four. Once on the castle grounds, he'd turn back four hours and head to the school's magical creature holds that were housed in the cliffs below the castle where he spent four hours working with the school's various creatures. He was working towards his Mastery of Care of Magical Creatures and part of that required him to put in a minimum of one thousand hours of time working with twenty different creatures.

He was currently working with the school's griffins, a small herd of hippogriffs, a wild flock of thestrals, and a rather large herd of wild unicorns that lived on the school grounds. That wasn't counting the time he spent caring for the wild phoenixes that showed no signs of leaving his home or his two familiars, both of which qualified since they were both magical creatures. His status as a Summoner greatly helped him in his duties, especially when working with the wild creatures as he could keep the animals calm and cooperative without resorting to using the standard containment spells on them (though he learned those spells through the course of the class).

After he was finished working with the various animals, Ryuu headed up to his dorm room to shower and change before he attended his Mastery Level Music class where he was finishing the required hours of teaching needed to obtain the title of Master Bard. He would then turn back another two hours so he could spend an hour studying with Luna before attending the Advanced Music class where he was working with three fourth years that were just learning to play the western flute in addition to learning the ins and outs of playing the clarinet and the piano. He wasn't originally going to learn another instrument but Satoshi had talked him into it as the twenty-two year old missed playing in the orchestra and wanted Ryuu to join him so he wouldn't quote 'be completely surrounded by midgets'. The rest of his evening, after supper, was spent working on class assignments, practicing his new instruments, and hanging out with his friends.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday would pass much the same as that first Monday. On Friday morning, he traveled to the samurai training grounds where Ashikaga assigned him a small squad of ten newly inducted samurai to train. The first obstacle he had to surpass was gaining the respect of the nineteen, twenty, and twenty-one year olds who felt it beneath them to take orders from a rather short sixteen year old. When a couple of the older recruits started cracking jokes and disrupting the introductory speech Ryuu had been giving, Ryuu calmly asked them if they thought they could do a better job. When they gave an affirmative in reply, Ryuu nodded sagely before he walked over to a rice bowl size Projection Pensive to play the memory sequence he'd prepared as a demonstration the previous evening.

The five memories that played were his fight with the troll from his first year, the basilisk fight from his second (with Voldemort's shade being edited out), the day he faced four dragons and his one on one match with the centaur during his fourth year, and the battle against one thousand training dummies from the end of his seventh summer session. When they finished playing Ryuu asked again if they thought they still thought they could do a better job and had to fight the urge to smirk when all ten of them immediately replied in the negative. He then had to prove to them that he wasn't a squib (since as far as the general public was concerned he'd lost his magic after facing Voldemort that final time) but that was easily done with a simple note from Hatake declaring his status as a wizard.

Ryuu would then spend the rest of the weekend training the squad; spending one third the time teaching them the spells they needed to know, another third putting them through a physical obstacle course, and the final third working on their swordsmanship. He earned another measure of respect from them when it became clear that he'd earned his rank on skill rather than buying it as they originally believed (because of his age) while at the same time keeping his demeanor professional at all times.

He lost a measure of that respect when many of the older (and in some cases lower ranked) officers treated him with disrespect only to earn it back threefold when he finally got fed up and challenged the five loudest officers to a five on one, no holds barred spar and won. It was at that point that those veterans that had participated the night Ryuu finished Voldemort reminded those who had not gone that Ryuu had defeated the former dark lord and well over one thousand dementors; a fact more than half of the samurai troops had either not known or conveniently forgotten.

The rest of the weekend passed by quickly and without incident as Ryuu worked with his squad. On Sunday evening, when he was preparing to leave, Ryuu provided his squad with a training schedule to hold them over during the four days he was attending classes, warning them that he'd be testing them when he returned the following Friday. He also gave them a short list of suggested reading material to help them increase their spell repertoire, improve their silent spell casting abilities, and help them get through the lectures they were required to attend. When Ryuu left he was feeling rather tired and wrung out from the trying weekend; being tested by his squad members and by the other officers while expected was no cake walk.

The rest of the summer would pass by similarly and while his schedule was no where near as taxing as it had been in previous years, Ryuu was at least busy enough that he didn't have time to be bored. Occasionally, he'd meet with a few of his former advisors from around the world; solidifying the alliances he'd established halfway through his fifth year. He also spent a day or two here and there installing wards at various prisons (to replace the dementor guards) or spent time helping stitching the Dragon Ward into the uniforms for the various dragon reserves that had signed contracts either through Weasley Wizarding Wonderments, through the law offices of Bongledash and Crimley, or through the Japanese Magistrate.

At the end of the summer Ryuu was feeling far more content than he had in a long time and occasionally, when he realized just how comfortable he was feeling, he would start looking over his shoulder and worrying about what was going to happen next. It was an odd feeling since his entire life had been filled with fear, anger, and grief interspersed with seemingly fleeting moments of happiness, pleasure, and warmth. It had been worse once he'd officially reentered the magical world at age ten and specifically when he'd entered Hogwarts at age eleven; which is why he always became paranoid when he realized he was feeling content.

He often sought out his father and his uncle during those moments as the two adults helped him center his thoughts, emotions, and fears. Luna's constant presence was a godsend during those times as her ability to step outside of herself allowed her to gauge his current state of mind and therefore allowed her to catch him at the beginning of his downward spiral before things got too bad.

He'd also finally been awarded his Master Bard title (the long hours he'd been required to put in teaching the only thing that had prevented him from getting it sooner) along with his fourth degree black belt. His squad was working as a team finally, the individual members slowly settling into their various specializations. As a medic squad that meant they had three healers in training (one specializing in spell damage, one in creature induced wounds, and the last in potions induced injuries and poisoning), two animal healers in training, two potions masters in training, two herbologists in training, and one transfiguration master in training (who could transfigure or conjure stretchers and other needed supplies that might be needed in the field). All of them needed battlefield medical skills and basic knowledge of herbology, magical creatures, and potions since they would need to be able to collect ingredients and brew potions on the fly when out on the field.

Ryuu was the perfect officer for the medical squad because he too was a healer in training (with a Mastery in Basic Healing), a Shaman (which could heal different injuries that some healers couldn't), a Summoner (who could summon and command almost any animal in order to collect the needed potion ingredients), a Journeyman Warder (he needed to put in about five hundred hours beneath a master before he could acquire the title of master himself even though he technically qualified – something that would allow him to secure a field hospital in a pinch), and he was a fully qualified Master of Battle Magics (which meant he could protect his squad while they worked to heal the injured).

That he was also studying non-magical medicine (or would be in a year and a half) meant that he would have an added advantage over the strictly magical healers because the non-magical side studied anatomy in more depth, had alternative methods of dealing with various types of injuries, and had a better understanding of germs, bacteria, and viruses. The fact that he also intended to travel the world learning other healing spells and methods (in addition to other magics) would only give him another added advantage when it came to healing or protecting his squad.

In fact, the higher officers had been closely monitoring Ryuu's squad and not only were they salivating over the potential; they were fighting over which general the squad would ultimately be assigned under. Many of them also bemoaned the fact that Ryuu was just a reserve officer (mostly due to the fact that he was still, for all intents and purposes, a minor). They were also annoyed that Ryuu wouldn't commit to signing on full time the moment he turned seventeen; Ryuu had no intentions of tying himself to the magical army though since he fully intended to finish medical school and travel with Luna first.

On the non-magical side of his education, Ryuu had also impressed his college instructors as he'd managed to not only keep up with his older classmates but placed in the top five spaces in all four of the classes he'd been taking, taking the number one spot in math and biology, number two in language arts, and three in history. He'd already picked up another six classes for the fall semester; the next level of biology (his summer class more of an introductory course required for the higher classes), calculus, Spanish, world history, music, and dance (to fulfill his physical education requirement and because Luna had suggested the class; Luna was taking a similar class at the academy after finishing French the previous summer in addition to taking Spanish after Ryuu mentioned what new language he was learning). Ryuu studiously ignored the whipped comments he got from all of his older friends when they overheard the conversation that Ryuu and Luna had had over their schedules for the coming year.

His magical education for what would have been his seventh year was almost non-existent. His mornings would be dedicated to helping Hatake and Satoshi cover the morning ju jitsu and aikido lessons (Hatake having accepted a full time contract with the Academy now that he was no longer on the police force or protecting Ryuu constantly). He was also working as an assistant in the infirmary under Healer Inoue in order to start acquiring the hours he would need in order to get his Healer's License from nine until noon. In the afternoons, he'd be continuing working in the bestiary with various magical creatures in addition to helping out during the Care of Magical Creatures lessons from one to five. After he finished at the academy, he'd turn back a full eight hours in order to attend his non-magical courses.

The only challenge for Ryuu would be not getting burnt out from the all of the time turning but since he'd been turning time since he was eleven he was used to it and had actually built up a tolerance to the sleep deprivation that turning usually caused in those who turned for more than a year at a time. It would be both easier and harder now that he was no longer a 'living focus' because he was no longer channeling ambient magic on a constant basis. That meant that he no longer had the vast 'reserves' he'd unconsciously pulled on in order to push through his exhaustion but at the same time it also meant he had better control of his own magic and no longer had to fight the wild nature of the ambient magic.

It also meant that he'd probably end up expanding his core by another two or three points on the index over the course of the year because he'd be pushing his not insubstantial reserves even further. It probably would have been by eight or ten points if he was still casting for six to eight hours straight like he had the previous year before he'd faced Voldemort.

Hermione and Neville's schedules for once looked just as hectic as Ryuu's normally did as the two seventh years prepared for their upcoming N.E.W.T.s. Neville was going for a Herbology Mastery on top of that; the young Longbottom heir a genius when it came to magical and non-magical plants. The fact that he'd willingly embraced several non-magical methods of raising and enhancing plants and combined them with the tried and true magical methods meant that he'd surpassed the expectations of both his Herbology instructors.

Hermione on the other hand was looking to obtain Masteries in History, Transfiguration, and Charms. She also intended on studying law (both magical and non-magical) and to that extent managed to wrangle an internship out of Sander Bongledash once she'd finished her formal education. Hermione and Neville had also finally stopped dancing around each other and their feelings and were currently negotiating a betrothal contract (or rather Hermione's parents and Neville's grandmother were negotiating the contract).

Luna's schedule for the coming year was also fairly full as in addition to Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic (the core classes) she was taking Care of Magical Creatures, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Spanish, and Dance. She also spent time with Taki taking a handful of non-magical classes out of a desire to better understand the non-magical world in order to strengthen her bonds with Ryuu (seeing that Ryuu was straddling both worlds). Luna was also very interested in taking classes at the university when she learned about the animal related courses such as zoology, animal husbandry, veterinary medicine, and marine biology, a dozen other classes that would help her better understand the various animals throughout the world.

Satoshi, like Ryuu, had joined the samurai reserves as an officer (though he was still only a captain and assigned to a different squad than Ryuu) and the official instructor for the Intermediate Aikido lessons during the standard term and the instructor for all aikido lessons during the summer sessions. The only additional classes that the twenty-two year old took aside from those courses he was required to attend as part of his samurai training were Advanced and Masters Level Music. Kimi on the other hand, had opted to sign a full-time commission with the Samurai no Mahoujutsu where she taught advanced Transfiguration to the new recruits after earning her Mastery.

Satoshi and Kimi were married in the spring of ninety-eight; the two of them having been a couple for almost four years and friends for seven. Ryuu had been touched when his honorary aniki asked him to be his best man while Kimi had asked Hermione to be her maid of honor with Luna, Neville, Fred, George, Angelina, and Alicia joining the wedding party as bridesmaids and groomsmen. Colin willingly agreed to be the official photographer for both the wedding and reception. As a wedding present, Ryuu had gifted his friend and brother the deed to one of the smaller Potter properties in Northern Scotland. The newly weds had tried to protest but Ryuu insisted, stating that he owned far too many houses and he'd rather give it to his brother in all but blood than sell it to the highest bidder (because it was formerly owned by 'the Boy-Who-Lived').

At the end of June nineteen-ninety-eight (just as that academic year drew to a close), Ryuu and Kenji's little sister was born. Natsume Akira was born with Takashi's pale hair and golden brown eyes and she stole Ryuu's heart the instant he held her; much as Kenji had three years earlier. Like both of her brothers, Akira was magical though her index was a good ten points below Kenji's since Taki hadn't spent as much time in a magic saturated castle and Ryuu no longer radiated a constant aura of wild magic (not that it mattered with all of the wild magic that the wild phoenixes gave off). She more than made up for her smaller magical core with her extra large lung capacity though as she woke up the entire house two and three times a night.

That first summer, Ryuu took to spending one half of his sixteen hours of sleep (since he was still turning eight hours each day and therefore needed the extra eight hours each night) at home so he could help take care of Kenji while his mother and father adjusted to having a newborn in the house again. That was how Kenji ended up moving into Ryuu's room on a semi-permanent basis, the three year old spending his nights with Ryuu after the almost eighteen year old put up a modified silencing charm on his room that would allow sound out but not in during the nights so Kenji's sleep wasn't disturbed.

The ward was deactivated each morning when Ryuu woke and activated each night when Ryuu went to sleep so that his and Kenji's sleep went undisturbed. The fact that Ryuu gave Kenji a little extra attention helped the young toddler accept his new sister more readily since he didn't have time to resent no longer being the center of attention; not even when Ryuu was cuddling Akira since during those times Takashi and Taki spent time with Kenji.

Takashi finally opened his own practice in both Shiga Prefecture and Scotland, seeking to help troubled orphans, traumatized children who suffered through abuse and other violence, and those children that suffered because they could see the youkai. He also sought to help non-magical adults learn how to cope with their magical children to prevent situations like those he found Ryuu in all those years ago. To help integrate the non-magical adults into the magical society so that they don't feel like they are losing their children and help them understand that magic is a gift. He easily traveled back and forth between his two practices thanks to a special amulet that Ryuu had designed using cherry wood, graphite, flawed quartz crystals, and the phoenix feathers he'd been given at the beginning of his fifth summer session (when he'd first bonded Shinjin).

The amulets could channel and store ambient magic which could then be used to power and activate the portal for those who were non-magical. They worked to activate other magical devices as well (such as the Floo, Pensieves, and brooms) and had immediately become quite popular with muggleborns, halfbloods (where one parent was non-magical), and squibs as it allowed to the take part in the magical world to a degree. The amulets were eventually marketed world wide through Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments and through various schools around the world (the schools earning three percent of the profits for each amulet they sold).

Business was booming for Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments as their second year of business came to a close. They now had a total of eight stores nation wide in Japan and contracts to open another ten stores world wide in Canada, the United States, Brazil, France, England (Diagon Alley), Scotland (Hogsmeade), Romania, Madagascar, Australia, and Italy over the next two years. They'd also hired additional sales clerks, researchers, and group of about twenty witches and wizards for their production team.

Ryuu sold the twins the deeds to a couple of commercial properties he owned in Great Britain (one in Diagon Alley and one in Hogsmeade) when he learned they'd finally gotten their English business license from the English Ministry of Magic. He would have just given them the properties if not for their insistence on purchasing the two buildings from him (at a fraction of their actual worth as that was the only way Ryuu would agree).

Remus, Sirius, and Severus continued working with the twins as the triple W expanded. Severus was placed in charge of the potions research and Remus eventually took over as the head of experimental charms research while Sirius helped to open the various stores around the world; his playful flirting nature drawing crowds of single women which in turn drew single men hoping to find Ms. Right amidst like minded women that frequented the stores.

Sirius was also idolized by younger teens as his reputation as a prankster spread through word of mouth. It was for that reason that Sirius became one of the faces of Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments alongside Fred and George. The three of them often bounced around from store to store while the other clerks they hired tend to set up shop in a single location (even Lee who eventually moved back to Scotland to run their shop in Hogsmeade).

Ryuu discovered another pair of honorary brothers in Bill and Charlie Weasley (Fred and George's oldest brothers). It started when he began working at the Romanian Dragon Reserve for a couple of hours a week (for his Mastery in Care of Magical Creatures) learning how to care for dragons and harvest various potion ingredients from the mighty beasts without resorting to slaughtering the endangered species. Charlie had been the Dragon Handler assigned to teach Ryuu the ropes while Ryuu in return taught the redhead (and a few of his fellow handlers) how to use a simple wooden flute to calm and momentarily command the deadly dragons (but not how to summon or permanently control them).

From there he'd gone to work with Bill and a couple of goblins upgrading the wards in and around the vaults in various Gringotts branches (mostly installing his elemental wards and teaching a select handful of goblins and wizards how to channel their magic through music to better control the various creatures that guarded certain vaults). In turn, Ryuu learned how to manipulate metal and gems which had helped him to create the amulets.

It was through Bill and Charlie that Ryuu learned that Ginny finally stopped pining after 'Harry Potter' once news got out that he'd lost his magic. She had been in love with the idea of marrying a rich, famous, and powerful _wizard_ (and the general public and many high level politicians still believed him to be a squib); it also helped that she couldn't forget the harsh words that Ryuu had said to her when she'd tried manhandling his familiars. It helped that her mother stopped pressuring her as well since the twins, Bill, and Charlie had spoken to their mother about Ginny's obsession and Molly's own obsession over the Boy-Who-Lived and reminded the older witch that their family owed Ryuu a Life Debt. Molly was depressed for months after that but eventually she bounced back to her normal jolly self; though she was still disappointed that her baby girl wouldn't be marrying into the Potter family.

Percy (the middle son) worked for the Ministry of Magic in England in the Department of International Cooperation; a job he'd gotten right out of Hogwarts. Percy had drifted away from the family a bit but never severed ties with them because he'd never become one of Fudge's toadies. Ron never stopped being jealous of Ryuu and the prejudiced teen had been gleeful when he learned that Ryuu had lost his magic. The volatile redhead had even been overheard to proclaim that the Potter fortune should be confiscated and distributed amongst the purebloods because squibs had no right to such vast fortunes. Sadly, all this did was push away the only two friends he had (Dean and Seamus) and made him an outcast during his final year and a half of school.

Once Luna finished her magical education (aside from a few additional courses to obtain her masteries) she and Ryuu focused on their non-magical education for a couple of years. They'd originally planned to travel right after Luna's seventh year but decided it was more practical to finish their education first so they wouldn't have to try picking up from where they left off. On New Year's Eve at the turn of the century, Ryuu proposed to Luna much to both his parents and her father's delight. They set the date for sometime in two-thousand-four or two-thousand-five so that Ryuu could finish medical school (he was moving through the courses with his usual determination and even taking a couple of night courses every once in a while in order to earn his doctorate).

Six months later, Himiko gave birth to her first litter of kneazle kittens; a little female that was a dark charcoal gray like Tenji with beautiful blue eyes, another female that was white as Himiko with Tenji's green-yellow eyes, and an extra small male that was a light gray with bright yellow-gold eyes. Once weaned, the white female was given to Kimi (who'd adored Himiko), the dark gray female ended up finding a home with Augusta Longbottom (the old witch feeling lonely now that Neville had moved out), and the little male became Kenji's new favorite friend. Future litters that the two kneazles had were adopted out through Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments, through the pet store where Ryuu had found Tenji, given to various friends, or donated to magical schools for their Care of Magical Creatures classes.

In two-thousand-two, Ryuu was called to active duty along with his medical squad and two squads of combat warriors in order to subdue a flock of rampaging Chinese Fireballs that had escaped from one of the reserves on mainland China when a rising dark lord attacked the reserve. Once he helped his squad set up a field hospital to deal with the injured, Ryuu joined one of the combat squads in order to find and subdue the dragons; his ability to command the dragons through his music invaluable since there were six mature dragons in the flock. They'd just located the raging dragons when the rising dark lord turned up to complicate matters.

The battle that followed pitted Ryuu against the dragons alone while the combat squad dealt with the enemy wizard. The potential dark lord attempted to even the odds a little by taking Ryuu out of the equation but the wizard must not have gotten the memo that killing curses were ineffective against Ryuu. Even though Ryuu was entirely focused on the dragons and never saw the green light heading in his direction, the golden shield that had saved him from Voldemort's, Quirrell's, and Umbridge's killing curses formed around him just as the killing curse struck his left shoulder.

The members of the combat squad accompanying Ryuu had just enough time to dive down out of the way of the rebounded killing curse but the amateur dark lord and two of the six dragons weren't quite so lucky. There was nothing left of the wizard but scattered ashes while the two dragons (because they were basically fire proof) plummeted to the earth.

Ryuu had been blasted into a third dragon hard enough to knock both of them out of the sky and it was only Shinjin's timely arrival that saved Ryuu from plummeting to the ground as his broom (thankfully not his Firebolt) had exploded upon impact with the dragon's thick hide. The remaining three dragons (the one Ryuu had collided with injured to the point it had to be put down in order to put it out of its misery due to the crash landing) returned to the reserve with little prodding from the combat squad while Ryuu was flashed back to the field hospital by Shinjin.

Ryuu cursed up a blue streak when he regained consciousness while one of his lieutenants was still in the process of leaching the excess magic from the magical burn on his left shoulder and shoulder blade. The twenty-two year old had been less than impressed when he learned that the potential dark lord had tried to kill him and even more put off by the fact that he had added yet another scar to his collection.

The number of rising dark lords dropped off dramatically after word of Ryuu's latest survival against the killing curse circulated the world. Knowledge that Ryuu still traveled the world meaning that the next person a dark lord fired the killing curse at could potentially be at the Squib-Who-Just-Won't-Die (which is the latest title that Ryuu had been given by the wizarding media) a mighty deterrent since anyone who used the killing curse was instantly cremated by their own spell. This was especially true in those countries where Ryuu was known to spend considerable time which currently included Japan, Romania, the British Isles, and Madagascar.

Neither his family nor his fiancée had been happy with him when he'd come home after that mission; though he'd thankfully sent them a heads up of the confrontation before they read about it in the newspaper.

Takashi and Hatake had both retreated to the guest house in the Natsume backyard that Hatake had moved into years earlier and gotten drunk after they saw Ryuu's latest scar. The two men (who'd at some point become brothers rather than just friends) had spent the night going over Trelawney's prophecy; once again speculating on the meaning of the line '_either must die at the hand of the other_'. They also considered what they'd learned about the title Master of Death that had been bestowed upon Ryuu the moment he claimed all three of the Deathly Hallows as his own.

The last thing they discussed that night was whether or not Ryuu fully understood the implications of the prophecy when combined with the title of Master of Death. They didn't want to just come out and ask him because they didn't want to make him panic but at the same time they thought it better that he have time to accept the possibility both prophecy and title hinted at. Ryuu on the other hand knew far more than either man and instead of worrying about what he couldn't change had instead buried all of said information deep in his subconscious mind so he would never have to think about it.

Just a few months later, Ryuu and all of his friends and family attended the funeral of Albus Dumbledore as the man was entombed on the shores of the Black Lake on the Hogwarts' grounds. The aged wizard had died during the night when his heart gave out at the tender age of one hundred twenty-two and passed away in his sleep. Ryuu had mixed feelings about the man; his early years of looking up to the once great wizard warring with the man's insistence that Ryuu was turning dark because Ryuu wasn't even trying to reform those 'misguided souls' that followed Voldemort.

Ryuu could have called Dumbledore's soul back into the world of the living for one final confrontation to see if Dumbledore had finally seen the truth but felt doing so would only portray him as vindictive. In the end, Ryuu decided that he would honor his earlier memories of Dumbledore and chalk his later change in attitude to senility because it hurt less than believing that the man truly believed Ryuu wished to harm others.

The two years after the dragon incident were fairly tame in comparison; if you didn't count his rather hectic class schedule as he worked to finish med school. Luna's schedule was no where near as hectic as she'd opted to major in zoology instead of getting a doctorate in animal medicine. Sure, being a veterinarian would have been interesting but she'd felt more than a little queasy when it came to blood or invasive surgery and so chose zoology instead while taking a few animal husbandry classes as well.

The two of them often helped each other study for their various tests (except anatomy because Luna didn't feel comfortable with the idea of dissecting animal bodies let alone the human body). In that way they managed not to drift apart during the two years of intense study like most young couples would when faced with the demands of a full school schedule on top of the magical work and classes they were still taking.

In the spring of two-thousand-four, Ryuu graduated from med school at the top of his class. Luna graduated at the same time with a bachelor's degree in zoology. By that time both of them had also gained their Masteries in Care of Magical Creatures and Ryuu had qualified for both his Healer's License and his Animal Healer's License. When he was once again asked to accept a full time commission with the Samurai no Mahoujutsu, Ryuu gave the general that had approached him a disbelieving look before nodding slowly while telling the man that if he could get Luna to agree to allow Ryuu to join the magical army full time he'd sign the commission.

The general spent less than twenty minutes in the room with Luna before he fled the house in fear; that signified the last time any of Ryuu's superiors asked him to join the Samurai full time.

Yamamoto-shishou was equally disappointed but understanding when Ryuu handed in his resignation. He'd enjoyed teaching the beginning ju jutsu classes both during the summers and the regular school year since he himself had finished his N.E.W.T.s but it wasn't what he wanted to do with his life. That and how was he supposed to travel the world with Luna if he was required to be in the dojo at six in the morning four or five days a week? He would of course teach one final summer as he and Luna began making preparations for their trip around the world as well as planning their wedding which had finally been set for October thirty-first two-thousand-four (Halloween being a significant date to both of them as that was the day they had first met).

The ceremony took place on Hogwarts' grounds beneath the tree where Ryuu had taken refuge on that long ago day beneath the rising moon. Soft fairy lights in silver and pink filled the ancient tree, lighting up the small area without drowning out the moon and the stars. Delicate looking wrought iron benches had been set up in a semi-circle around the tree and covered with cushioning charms to prevent them from being uncomfortable. A wrought iron arbor that looked to be made from fragile vines was woven with vines of moonflowers while two planters filled with six foot tall bamboo plants had been placed to either side of the arbor for good luck. On the ground beneath the arbor polished marble tiles had been carved with the runic circle that would allow all of the guests present to view the delicate youkai that clung to the moonflower vines.

In honor of the day Ryuu had asked Luna to be his girlfriend (immediately after his one on one battle with a centaur in his fourth year) Ryuu had worn his ceremonial officer's uniform (which while not quite the same as the school uniform he'd worn that day was close enough to please his wife-to-be). The uniform itself was black and accented with silver threads where Ryuu had sewn his Dragon and Elemental Wards into the material over which he wore a black hakama instead of his usual silver one.

On the back of the uniform was his personal crest of two Ukrainian Ironbellys forming a circle around a silver moon with the outline of an attacking owl stitched over the moon in medium gray; each dragon held a wand and a sword in its claws and held them out in such a way that the moon and owl were bracketed inside of a diamond. Stitched below the emblem in two inch gold letters were the words; Arekuruu Ryuu. On his left breast was the smaller crest of the Japanese Bugyou Tokoro no Mahoujutsu (a white lotus in bloom with two crossed bronze swords beneath the flower with a red wand vertically bisecting the flower and its handle resting on the point where the two blades crossed just above their hilts) signifying Ryuu's status as an officer in the Samurai no Mahoujutsu and on his sleeves of both shoulders were the three stars and two bars signifying his rank as colonel.

Luna, on the other hand, had worn a rather whimsical medieval white dress in soft velvets, fine satin, and gossamer lace with delicate silver ribbons crisscrossing the corset and tiny pink seed pearls sewn onto the hemline, neckline, and at the ends of the sheer flowing sleeves that hung just below her waist. Luna's hair had been left to tumble freely down her back and she wore a delicate crown made from spun silver and fresh cherry blossoms. Thin ribbons of silver strung with more cherry blossoms (both white and pink) had been woven through her long pale-blonde hair. Clinging to both the crown and Luna's hair were twenty fragile fairies, the ones that Luna called nargles; the tiny beings completing the otherworldly aura that surrounded Luna that evening.

The ceremony started the moment the first moonbeam touched on the arbor causing the moonflowers to blossom. At the same time, Satoshi and Kimi along with a select handful of their mutual friends from their early Advanced Music classes began playing a traditional wedding song as Hermione was escorted up the isle by Neville followed by Kenji (currently age nine) carrying a pink pillow edged in silver with two gold rings who was in turn followed by four year old Akira who was diligently scattering white and pink rose petals. Once Akira took her seat beside Ryuu's parents and grandparents, the small orchestra launched into the wedding march as Xenophilius Lovegood escorted Luna along the soft carpet of grass that bisected the semi-circle of benches where the guests were seated and Neville had to remind Ryuu to breathe as his eyes landed on the vision that was to become his wife.

When Xeno passed Luna to Ryuu, Ryuu couldn't resist leaning closer to her and asking softly, "Are you real?"

Those that were close enough to hear Ryuu's whispered question and who also knew the circumstances under which Luna and Ryuu had first met laughed softly while Luna blushed prettily as she flashed Ryuu a smile. The rest of the ceremony was nothing more than a blur for both Ryuu and Luna as they were first married by a Shinto priest in the eastern tradition before an elderly druid took the priest's place to perform a handfasting; a perfect blend of magical and non-magical as well as eastern and western culture. The reception that followed was held out in the courtyard outside of the Great Hall and filled with music, dancing, and food.

At midnight, Ryuu and Luna returned to Japan where they picked up their suitcases (which they'd packed the evening before), collected both of Ryuu's familiars (Himiko would be staying behind since she had just delivered her latest litter of four kittens), and flashed to Madagascar via Shinjin where they were greeted by a grinning Shaman Rabinur. After a month in Madagascar spent tromping through the jungles in search of rare magical and non-magical animals and learning new rituals, the newly weds traveled to Tibet where they spent a month as a guest of the Dali Lama and explored the surrounding mountains and learning alternative forms of mind control arts. From there they went south again to visit Australia, then hit New Zealand, before jumping way north to Switzerland; spending no less than one month in each country exploring the terrain and learning magic.

On the last day of every month they would send a care package home to their family and friends that contained photos, a journal of their observations from that country, letters for everyone, and a box of souvenirs and gifts. The only times they paused in their wanderings were on special occasions (such as birthdays, weddings, festivals, and holidays) and return to Japan to spend time with family, share stories, and catch up with friends before returning to whatever country they had been visiting at the time. One such day was the day Ryuu's newest little brother was born (his third and final sibling). Little Tomio had messy red hair (slightly darker than Kenji's and Taki's), Taki's deep brown eyes, and a magical index level that fell between Kenji's and Akira's.

At the end of April two-thousand-six, Ryuu and Luna returned home for their longest visit yet as Luna gave birth to a set of twin boys on the fifth of June; Kakashi James and Shigure Lysander (the firstborn twin named after his honorary uncle and his biological father and the second named after his adopted grandfather and Luna's paternal grandfather). Both boys had Luna's pale silvery blonde hair, Ryuu's emerald eyes, Luna's rather calm disposition, and identical magical indexes of eighty-two. Ryuu agreed to take a job teaching Aikido and Masters Level Music for the upcoming summer session in order to give Luna time to recover from the rather difficult labor (her body too petite to deal well with carrying and birthing twins – though Ryuu had eased her pain and discomfort every step of the way; removing the risk of losing both her life and that of the two babies through his magic and love for her and their children) and allow his parents and grandparents time to bond with the twins.

If Ryuu had been taken with each of his siblings the moment he met them, it was nothing compared to the way he felt about his first born sons. The rest of the world didn't exist as far as Ryuu was concerned when he held one or both boys in his arms and not even old insecurities could ruin the contentment he felt when around those adorable little boys. He didn't even care that he lost sleep every night because the twins were always up every two hours like clockwork and when one was up the other automatically woke up as if the two of them planned it that way. For the first three weeks after their birth, Ryuu waited on Luna hand and foot as she recovered and insisted upon being the one to take care of the twins when they woke up during the nights. Thanks to the early practice of helping his parents out when Kenji and then Akira were born, Ryuu had no trouble taking care of the two newborns while watching over Luna at the same time.

Near the end of June, Ryuu then escorted his brother Kenji (who'd just turned eleven in January) to District Seven along with their father to purchase Kenji's supplies for his first summer session at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu. When they had everything they needed (minus a wand and a pet because Ryuu planned on giving Kenji his old holly wand and Kenji had just begun forming a familiar bond with Tenji's and Himiko's first born son), they returned home where Ryuu presented his brother with the holly wand. The smile that lit up Kenji's face upon being given Ryuu's old wand made it worth it and the fact that the wand once again filled the room with gold and red sparks as Kenji's magic bonded with the wand a second time confirmed Ryuu's belief that the wand was a perfect match for his brother.

While they waited for Hatake, who would be escorting Kenji to the academy (the older wizard had requested it in memory of being the one to escort Ryuu that first time), Ryuu told Kenji the story of how he'd been the one to prove that Ryuu hadn't lost his magic eight and a half years earlier using that same wand. It was a great bonding moment between Ryuu and his younger siblings and his newborn children as he sat there telling the story while holding Tomio on his lap, rocking little Kakashi in a carrier with his left foot and little Shigure with his right, and Akira snuggled happily against Ryuu's side while all three of his younger siblings hung on his every word.

Luna, out of bed for the first time since the difficult labor watched from the doorway with Takashi and Taki; the three of them smiling fondly at the touching scene. A click of a wizarding camera captured the scene forever as Hatake slipped up beside the watchers and grinned at the very domestic scene being played out with Ryuu surrounded by children.

Once summer was over and both Luna and the twins (who'd been born two months premature) were stronger, Ryuu and Luna once again returned to their travels with the boys in tow. For added protection, the four of them now traveled with a trio of wild phoenixes in addition to Shinjin; that way in the event of an attack or an emergency there was one phoenix that could transport each of them quickly out of danger. Ryuu had also spent a good deal of time stitching protective wards into his sons' clothes, blankets, and diapers in order to better protect them. (His and Luna's clothes had all been given protective wards years earlier with any news items receiving the wards before they were warn the first time.)

While the twins were still fairly small, Ryuu would carry them both in a special carrier against his chest, his pan flute attached to its special brace and disillusioned in the event he needed to use it to calm a wild animal, stop an attack, or simply play a lullaby to sooth the babes as they slept. That left Luna free to search for whatever creatures she was currently hunting as well as allow her to build up her strength back to where it had been before she'd become pregnant. Some women would have been offended if their husbands had taken to treating them like glass while taking over the care of their newborn children but not Luna.

She understood that Ryuu wasn't treating her as weak, he was giving her time to become stronger and he truly loved their children; the twin boys filled the hole in his heart and soul where Shogun's bond had been ripped from him over twelve years earlier. She also knew her own limitations and was very aware how close she'd come to losing both babies towards the end of her pregnancy (one of the reasons Ryuu put his foot down and took them home two months early). Ryuu was her anchor just as she (and the rest of his family) was his and she trusted her Dragon to protect her and their children.

Two more years passed by quickly as the twins grew and said their first words, took their first steps, and soon began terrorizing anything and everything with feathers or fur. Their small family had traveled to all corners of the earth and back again, spending no more than a month in each country or in the case of the United States and Canada; one province or state. They had, by that time, visited almost every place they'd promised each other they'd visit; only a small handful of specific places left on their list. They were planning on heading back up to Canada to visit British Columbia (the only province they hadn't visited as of yet) when Luna dropped a small hand grenade in Ryuu's lap when she announced that she was three months pregnant.

Ryuu had stared at his wife of nearly four years for a full minute before he packed their things with a flick of his wand, whistled for his familiars, gathered up the napping twins, and summoned a pair of shadow phoenixes to take them home cutting their tour of the Galapagos Islands short by several days.

He surprised his parents as they'd turned up in the middle of the night quite out of the blue but both his mother and father understood his reasoning when he passed along the news. Five and a half months later, Ryuu and Luna's first daughter, Yuri Rose, joined the family. Like her older brothers, she had Ryuu's green eyes but unlike her brothers she also had Ryuu's dark messy hair and when compared to little Kakashi and little Shigure she was very quiet (even more so than the twins when they were first born), and a magical index of seventy-seven. That was the year that Ryuu decided it was time to settle down; they could travel the world during the summers or over the various holidays. To that end he purchased a sprawling farm just outside of Takahashi Town and spent the rest of spring and all summer of two-thousand-eight repairing the ranch house and warding the property.

At the start of the summer session that year, Ryuu applied for a teaching position at Kakushugakkou no Jujutsu to teach a class he called Alternative Healing; which would teach an assortment of magics, potions, and non-magical methods of dealing with all manners of injuries and diseases. Yamamoto-shishou had worked tirelessly for three years to get the Council of Elders to consider adding the class Ryuu had often spoken of passionately since before he'd even finished his formal magical and non-magical education. Once they'd agreed, he implemented the new budget to cover the cost of the required reading material and potential supplies and set that money aside for the day when Ryuu finally settled down.

The wily old Headmaster had silently congratulated himself the day Ryuu dropped off his application complete with a list of reading material, supplies, and classroom specifications; he'd managed to snare England's Boy-Who-Lived and all it had cost him was faith, trust, and support of a single troubled child with an untapped potential.

Three years after Ryuu once more began teaching; Luna gave birth to a second set of twins; this time one boy and one girl. Satomi Lynn had pale hair and blue eyes just like her mother while Takeo Sirius had Ryuu's messy black hair and hazel eyes that were a perfect blend of green and blue. Like their older siblings, their magical indexes were on the higher end of the spectrum with Takeo measuring in at seventy-nine and Satomi at eighty-one. Luna's body had matured in the years since she'd given birth to their first sons, which made the younger twin's pregnancy less of a risk though it was still a difficult pregnancy and an equally difficult labor.

She was still young enough that she bounced back almost as quickly as she had the first time she gave birth to twins but Ryuu still worried for her. Ryuu had taken a year off of teaching the moment he learned that Luna was having twins again (from Luna's fifth month of pregnancy until the newest twins reached four months of age) so he could be there for her during the most difficult stage of pregnancy, labor, and help her care for the newborns until she was back up on her feet.

After Satomi and Takeo were born, Ryuu sat down with Luna and had a serious discussion about not having any more children; not because Ryuu didn't want more children but because he was worried about the toll each pregnancy had taken on his wife of seven years (especially the pregnancies of both sets of twins). Luna in turn warned him that she'd be giving birth to one more child even as she agreed with him that a third set of twins would be too much for her. When Ryuu practically begged her to reconsider risking even one more pregnancy, Luna only smiled and told him that she already knew everything would be fine and Ryuu acquiesced reluctantly as he worried about her each time he got her pregnant since while magic could do many things it couldn't fix everything.

True to Luna's prediction, she bore Ryuu one final son (whom they named Daisuke John; the only green eyed red head in the family and the only child of theirs born with an index over eighty-five) in the year two-thousand-thirteen; after which she saw a healer about sealing her uterus in order to prevent any more pregnancies. It saddened her to do so but she knew Ryuu was correct in that her body would not have been able to cope with even one more single pregnancy let alone another multiple one. There would never be a shortage of children around their house though; even after their six had grown up and struck out on their own. Their friends' children, Ryuu's nieces and nephews, and their grand children would fill the old farm with laughter whenever they visited as would the magical and spiritually gifted orphans the loving couple adopted through the years.

At age thirty-nine, when Luna's father passed away, Ryuu retired from the academy in order to help Luna run the Quibbler in honor of his father-in-law. He also helped Luna publish a series of journals detailing their adventures around the world and the discoveries they had made. Both magazine and book series won Luna worldwide acclaim she turned the Quibbler into a Naturalist's Magazine rather than a tabloid (though she frequently added in a tabloid article or two to each issue in honor of her father). Ryuu wrote the occasional article for the magazine as well but mostly he translated it into various languages and managed the offices and staff, so that Luna was free to write and research.

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><p>Ryuu stood out on the porch of their Japanese ranch house and watched his great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, and his newest adopted son (a twelve year old non-magical boy gifted with the ability to see the youkai) playing in the fields with his great-grand-nieces and nephews along with the great-grandchildren of his many friends. At age eighty-five, Ryuu didn't look a day over forty (he'd slowly stopped aging after he turned thirty-five) and felt more like he was twenty-five. Sitting side by side at his feet, was the ageless Nyanko-sensei who'd chosen to remain with Ryuu when Takashi and Taki passed away twenty years earlier and an equally ageless Tenji (who'd stopped aging about the same time as Ryuu due to their connection through the familiar bond).<p>

"Noisy bunch of gaki," Nyanko grumbled as he groomed his whiskerless face.

"And if they weren't you'd be paranoid; wondering which of them was going to creep up on you and change your fur green or purple next," Ryuu pointed out with a soft laugh as glanced down at the wolf spirit in cat's clothing. "Besides, I never hear you calling them brats when they're sharing their dango, sushi, or yeast buns with you."

"Humpf," Nyanko replied as he closed his eyes and stuck his nose up in the air while turning his face away from the playing children.

Chuckling to himself, Ryuu let his thoughts drift back to his oldest children. Kakashi James and Shigure Lysander, his and Luna's firstborn, had opted to take the Potter name when they turned seventeen and the twins had moved to Scotland. When they turned twenty-five, they had taken over management of three-quarters of the Potter fortune with Ryuu's blessing. Yuri Rose had followed in her mother's footsteps and eventually joined the Quibbler staff before marrying a rather quiet young wizard she'd met while traveling around the world documenting the shrinking habitats of magical creatures.

Satomi Lynn had also chosen to take the Potter name and returned to England where she became a warder for Gringotts and eventually married Bill Weasley's youngest son. Her twin brother, Takeo Sirius, on the other hand remained in Japan; settling down in District Twelve when he married George Weasley's only daughter and took over as the potions researcher for Weasley's Wizarding Wonderments after Severus Snape died defending a group of muggle school children from a dark witch.

Ryuu and Luna's youngest, Daisuke John (who'd been named after Ashikaga Daisuke and Remus Lupin) ended up following Ryuu's footsteps. The red-headed, green-eyed boy was a trouble magnet with a fierce temper and stubborn will that surpassed even Ryuu's. After finishing his formal magical education at the tender age of fifteen (a year earlier than Ryuu), Daisuke had studied both magical and non-magical medicine and earned both his Healer's License and his Medical Doctorate before he joined the Samurai no Mahoujutsu.

The young Natsume had eventually taken over Ryuu's medical squad when Ryuu retired from the Samurai at age fifty-six (though he'd still lend a hand when the need arose he was no longer technically in the reserves). Daisuke ended up marrying Satoshi and Kimi's oldest granddaughter (who was eight years younger than him) when he turned thirty.

"When are you going to tell her, Natsume-kun?" Nyanko suddenly asked, pulling Ryuu out of his memories.

"She already knows," Ryuu replied sadly. "I think she's always known."

"And…?"

"And what?" Ryuu countered tiredly.

"Baka," Nyanko growled in irritation. "Don't you think you should still talk to her about it?"

"No… talking about it would only make the inevitable separation even more unbearable," Ryuu replied after a few minutes. "She understands and she trusts me to watch over our children and grandchildren."

"And you? What are you…?"

"I will slowly withdraw from the public when the time comes," Ryuu answered before Nyanko could finish his question.

"What will you tell your children?"

"The truth, though I'm certain Yuri already knows since she'd inherited her mother's talent for stepping outside of herself; as have a number of our grandchildren."

"Are you frightened, Natsume?"

"Yes… and at the same time no," Ryuu replied softly as he reached out and scratched Shinjin's chin as the phoenix landed on his shoulder and trilled a soft greeting. "I don't like the idea of knowing everyone I love will eventually pass into the afterlife while I am cursed to walk the world forever. At the same time I draw comfort in the knowledge that I will not have to live out the rest of my life alone so long as I have you, Shinjin, and Tenji at my side and the knowledge that my family lives on in their children's children."

Nothing more was said as Ryuu and the three animals returned their attention to the children playing about in the field. When Luna joined him a few hours later, Ryuu pulled her close and held her tenderly as he once more buried the knowledge that there would come a day when she was no longer by his side deep in his mind. He refused to allow the future to ruin the present and treasured the time they had together for as long as he could; after all, the future forever waits on the horizon whether you acknowledge it or not.

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><p><strong><strong>*** THE END ***<strong>**

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><p><strong>Translations:<strong> Japanese to English

Akira – girl's name meaning bright or clear  
>Arekuruu Ryuu – Raging Dragon<br>Daisuke – boy's name meaning great help  
>Gaki – brat<br>Kakashi – boy's name meaning scarecrow  
>Satomi – girl's name meaning beautiful and wise<br>Shigure – boy's name meaning drizzle or late autumn/early winter shower  
>Takeo – boy's name meaning warrior hero<br>Tomio – boy's name meaning wealth and fortune  
>Yuri – girl's name meaning lily<p>

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> _Wow, finally_..._ It's taken me far longer to get this chapter posted than I thought it would when I first started posting this story. It sure has been quite a ride though.  
><em>

_Just a few notes... _

_I know that this chapter seems kind of rushed but it was really only meant to tie up the loose ends and show snapshots of Ryuu's life after Voldemort's destruction. I could have gone into more depth but at the time I'd written this story, I hadn't wanted to allow the story to draw out endlessly. _

_Before I head out here, I'd like to thank all of my readers, especially those who have stuck with this story from the moment I posted the first chapter. I'd also like to thank all of my reviewers; your comments, corrections, and praise has meant a lot. _

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story. ~ Jenn_


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